Monster Girl Encyclopedia: Bonds are Unbreakable
by raidouXVI
Summary: A nation of false peace invaded. The ones he loved lost to the overwhelming power of corruption. His dreams of an unchanging life of happiness together with them erased like it never existed at all. All because of the ambition of a monster who wants nothing more than one-sided coexistence. Thus, Levant takes up his resolve, and begins a journey to restore those bonds...
1. Prologue

_Author's Notes: Hello there, dear readers! Welcome to Monster Girl Encyclopedia: Bonds are Unbreakable._

_This fic is based on Kenkou Cross' Monster Girl Encyclopedia, and his MGE: Fallen Maidens. _

_Moreover, this story is going to be a different take on the Fallen Maiden's story, although the changes are pretty minimal. (They'll all get transformed per se.) It's just that this fic will take place before, during, and after the invasion of Lescatie. The changes I mentioned above will be revealed…in-story. Mwahahaha!_

_Disclaimer: The Monster Girl Encyclopedia series is owned by Kenkou Cross._

* * *

_**Monster Girl Encyclopedia: Bonds are Unbreakable - Prologue "Sky-blue days of false peace and true conspiracies."**_

* * *

_The Nation of Lescatie…_

One of the world's largest nations, and as well as a nation where faith in the chief goddess is the main religion, Lescatie is one of the most religiously influenced countries in the world, ruled by the king named Castor Bistoa Lescatie. But it is not the only thing that the nation is famous for…

Lescatie has the second most powerful military among all religious order aligned states at the present time. And to add, this nation also has multiple hero training organizations and facilities, training people into fighting for the order from a young age.

The most prominent of these organizations is the Templars of the Goddess's Cross, or in short, the Holy Cross Templars. This organization produces a minimum of a least a hundred heroes of all kinds per year, and produces a maximum of thousands per year than any other organizations around Lescatie and the world itself. Thus, Lescatie boasts as the number one hero producing nation around the world.

Due to its status as a high class hero producing nation, the nation of Lescatie is also one of the world's largest centers of trade, ranging from the important military supplies to things needed for daily life. The nation's city has dazzling central districts, merchant districts, parks, and all sorts of things one may expect to see in a prosperous and powerful city.

However, along with these benefits, came problems typical of urban life: corruption, violence, crimes, and poverty.

Thanks to the corrupt habits of the many high officials of the order, who makes use of their positions for their own conveniences, most of the money that was supposed to be given for the healthcare, food, and shelter of the people ended up straight into the pockets of these high officials, forcing the poor into the squatters of the slums. Because of this, the heroes who came from the poor families often have mistrust , and would have the tendency to quit their jobs as heroes to take jobs that actually make money without risks, or cause dissent among the order by desertion during a mission.

Amidst this oppressive environment, a young man persevered…

A freshly recruited member of the Discreet Mamono Elimination Department of the Holy Cross Templars, named Levant Zanvolt…

* * *

-3rd Person POV-

A fine day has arrived once again in the courtyard of Holy Cross's headquarters, where the training of the Holy Cross Templar's new recruits and veterans are occurring as usual in a day of peace and good weather within the nation of Lescatie.

Throughout the courtyard, sounds of spears, arrows, maces, swords, and shields clashing can be heard, as a whole multitude of Templars are having sparring matches by pairs. Those who train have different specialties, ranging from regular knights, spearmen, assassins, archers, scouts, and all other kinds of warriors.

The new recruits are always paired up with a fellow Templar with more experience, so that they might get evaluated on their performance after the battle. For example…

"Tch!" A newly recruited assassin, wearing black robes with a hood on and wielding two short blades held in reverse grip with both his hands, jumps into the air as he attempts to land a blow onto the neck of his opponent, a shielded knight, from above with his pair of blades, only for the said knight to deflect the attack with his shield, and swing his sword vertically upward with a lot of raw force, causing the twin bladed assassin to guard himself and get sent up to the air.

The shielded knight then begins his counter-assault by jumping up into the air towards his twin bladed foe, and slashes downwards in an attempt to force his foe into the ground. However, as if in anticipation, the assassin quickly intercepts the knight's attack with his own by swinging one his blades with focused strength in a horizontal manner from the left, causing them to clash and allowing the assassin to push himself away from the knight and land before him using the force of the collision.

As soon as the assassin landed, he quickly switches his blade in his left hand with a knife, and throws it towards the head of the knight as he was about to hit the ground, surprising him and making him guard his head with his shield, and making him stumble as he landed, giving the opening that the assassin has been waiting for.

Wasting no time, the assassin quickly lunges forward before landing a swinging kick to the knight's left foot, causing the knight to lose balance and fall flat on his ass. And thanks to the weight of his armor, the knight had a hard time getting up, allowing the assassin to jump and heavily land on the knight's chest plate, causing him to groan in pain, and with quick speed, the assassin skillfully disarms the knight, removing his helmet in the process, revealing a middle-aged man with brown hair, green eyes, and beard all over the lower area of his face.

The scout quickly points the tip of his blade to the area below the knight's bearded chin, as a sign of victory…Making the said knight tap the ground as a sign of surrender. The assassin then quickly puts away his blades…

The knight smirks as the assassin gets off him and helps him up, and after finally being able to stand, the knight commends his trainee, "Heh, not bad for a fresh meat! Even though you're young and a part of the sneaky back-stabby guys, you sure have strong arms! Say, what's the secret to that strength of yours, eh? A lady waiting at home?" The knight teases the assassin, who just laughs along and pulls up the hood of his robes, revealing his face. He had spiky silver hair, golden eyes, and his skin tone akin to ivory.

The assassin then proceeds to answer in a joking manner, "Well, for one, I've been single for seventeen years!"

The knight lets out a hearty laugh before replying, "Hahaha! You'd better stop using those hands and get yourself a real woman, Levant! Hahaha!" Instead of being embarrassed, the assassin Levant just laughs this off. The knight then proceeds to pat Levant's shoulder before saying, "I'm being serious about the woman part, my boy. A year more and you'll be of age! As a man, it is a part of your duty to find yourself a woman who'll be by your side when you'll start rottin' in the keister!"

Levant then proceeds to brush off the old knight before replying, "Unfortunately, I don't have time for that, though, Sir Ganz. It's just that…I still have to look after everyone in the orphanage, along with Ramir, Primera, and Sasha-err, I mean, General Sasha. I can't just leave them after all they've done for me. And that's because they are my family." The knight named Ganz proceeds to give Levant a look of apology and understanding before patting Levant's shoulder again, since the old knight forgot that Levant is actually an orphan who grew up in an orphanage, and that Levant has no one else other than his fellow orphans for family.

"Well…Keep up the good work, kid. I forgot that you still have your little sisters and brothers to deal with." As Ganz finished talking, the loud sound of a bell echoed throughout the headquarters, a signal that it is already mid-noon, the time for change in patrol shifts.

Ganz then proceeds to give Levant instructions before leaving, "Alright. Supposedly, I'm supposed to give you a 1-hour break, but…Listen to me for a bit, kid." Ganz then proceeds to take a piece of paper from his pocket, and hands it to Levant. Written on it is 'Evaluation passed with an A++'. Levant's eyes widened at what was written on the paper, especially when he realized what it entails…

Ganz then proceeds to keep speaking, "Out of most of the trainees I've encountered, you're one of those few that actually show tactics, spirit, and dedication, despite your lack of magical skills, my boy, unlike most of these day's young brats, who just runs around while randomly swinging a sword declaring their 'heroes'. I could see a good future set for you, if you won't die on the battlefield, that is, knowing your job!" Ganz then stares Levant into the eye as he kept speaking, "You actually have that fire in you. Your mentors trained you well. Keep that bravery with you all the time, and I guarantee, you'll reach great heights!" Ganz then once again pats Levant's shoulders…Before taking out another piece of paper from his pocket.

"You have a mission tomorrow, as decreed by the high priests. You will receive the information tomorrow at your squad room, which means you'll have to be on time, awright? Oh, and your designated squad is…General Dascaros's Squad, named the Snake's Lance squad. You know which room that is right?"Ganz informs Levant, who gives off a nod.

"_With the information I gathered, the squad leader is someone named Mersé Dascaros, a war veteran from a previous war with monsters. Because of her knowledge at fighting, she's the one who gets all the newbies these days. So I guess this means I get to work with more fellow newbies too? That's…a good thing, I guess._" Levant then proceeds to speak, "Very well. I'll be on time tomorrow. Goodbye, for now, Sir Ganz." He then proceeds to bow, before turning his back to Ganz and leaves the headquarters…

_**(INSERT LINE BREAK HERE!)**_

"Looks like Ramir is in patrol duty right now…Primera's not in her quarters, too…Geez. I'll just have lunch by myself, then. Workaholics these days…Oh wait, maybe Mimiru is going to visit again today…" Levant mutters to himself as he walks around the central square of Lescatie, which is currently filled with so many people, ranging from kids who are playing around, residents just taking a walk, tourists who are checking up the shops, and Templars on patrol duty strolling around…

"I guess it's the barracks for me…as usual. She'll come over there around lunch time, anyway."

As Levant was about to head back into the headquarter's barracks, a young girl's voice interrupted him by calling his name, causing him to stop in his tracks…

"Hey, big bro! Over here, you lolicon!" A girl calls out to Levant. A vein throbbed on his forehead as he guesses the identity of the girl. Levant then turns towards the said girl.

The girl appears to be around the age of twelve. She has pink eyes, long pink hair tied up by a large white ribbon at the back of her head, and light colored skin. She wears a pink and red shoulder-less dress, with detached pink and white sleeves. Her lower attire consists of a non-transparent white stocking that reaches above her knee, and she also wears a pair of brown colored shoes. She also appears to carry a staff with her.

Despite her small appearance, a strong, suffocating atmosphere of magic surrounds her, a sign that it would be foolish to mess with this child…

"Oh, hey there, Mimiru. Are you on break too?" Levant asks the little mage, Mimiru.

"Of course I am, big bro! And speaking of that, the great Mimiru would like to ask a great favor to you, lowly peasant!" Mimiru declares in a proud, yet playful tone. Levant just gently pats her head before replying, "Okay, okay, I get it. So, the great Mimiru wants her lunch, right? Say, how about we have our lunch together at the barracks as usual? You can ask your question while we're eating, is that okay with you, little sis?"

Mimiru's face turned beet-red, causing her to fret as she attempts to retort to Levant's words, "Wha-what are you saying, you si-sick pervert?!"

A smirk crept its way upon Levant's lips as he replies, "I'll take that as a no, then. Bye!" He then casually turns his back to Mimiru while attempting to run away straight to the barracks...

His actions causes Mimiru to run after him and started shouting, "Wa-wait! I was just joking about the lolicon part! Don't leave me!" A blush was making itself known as Mimiru shouted this words. Knowing that she will persist in the chase, Levant just smirked again and kept running, but a little more slower otherwise…

* * *

"Hmm...this is weird. Why isn't there anyone around?" Levant mentaly noted as he ate his food. Indeed, the barracks are only occupied by himself and Mimiru. It's as if the other Templars suddenly vanished into thin air...

"Wow…That tasted great! Even the maids at the mansion can't cook this good!" Mimiru says in praise as she kept on chomping the lunch, and omelette, that Levant made at his home, at the orphanage, for lunch.

Usually, every lunch time, Mimiru would look around the headquarters for Levant. Even though she has a lot of cooks back at her mansion, Levant's cooking seemed to have that 'warmth', whereas, the cooking at the mansion seems to lack this mysterious 'warmth'.  
In a matter of seconds, Mimiru already finished off the omelette, surprising even Levant, despite having seen the same scenario so many times in the past.

"Really? I guess Sasha was right to have taught me the recipe for this then." As soon as Levant mentioned Sasha's name, Mimiru suddenly had a dark look on her face, as if she just heard something unpleasant…

Sighing, Mimiru closes her eyes and lowers her head, trying to look asleep. However, the insides of her mind are not as sleepy as it seems. "_Sasha this, Sasha that. Can't he speak about something else?! Like…me…Why can't he praise me like how he praises that hag with the quadruple giga-sized chest?! Damn him and his paizuri fetishes…_"

"You know, if you're trying to pretend to be asleep or playing dead, you should at least slow down your breathing by a notch. You're not supposed to look like you're having asthma." Levant speaks in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone, surprising Mimiru, but at the same time, made her realize something she did wrong…

Her breathing was deep and loud. If she has something to blame for that, it would be her anger from earlier…But she's not about to reveal that…

Mimiru then tries to talk her way out of embarrassment, "I-I was just testing you, that's all! You're an assassin right? So yeah, I was just trying to see if you can, uh, guess it right if I'm actually asleep! B-but you did it right, so you have my praises for that, haha…hahaha!" Her tone was fretting, a sign of an obvious lie in the making...

"_You don't guess it if you want to know if someone's asleep. You check their breathing._" Levant swore that if he had ten pairs of hands right now, they would be planting themselves on his face.

"Okay, okay, I believe you." Levant casually replies.

However, Mimiru's intelligence says otherwise, "No, you don't! You're lying! *sob* You're a jerk! Uwaaaah! *sob*." Taking advantage of Levant's weakness to his 'little sisters' at the oprhanage, Mimiru then decides to use the same tactic and puts on her most powerful weapon: the crying little sister.

With his big brother instincts kicking in like a spear impaling his chest, Levant unconsciously lowers himself on one knee, as he tries to console the crying Mimiru by unconsciously hugging her with one arm, and gently rubbing her head with the other, "There, there, I really believe you, I swear! Just…stop crying, alright?" Levant says in a staggering manner as he kept on trying to console Mimiru.

"_Damn it…Why is it that I can't resist little girls?! Oh, wait, that came out wrong…_" Levant's mind was in turmoil as the…sensation of hugging Mimiru is already being engraved onto his senses…

"Ehehe…" Mimiru freely lets out a giggle as she rubs away her tears onto the frontal part of Levant's robe. "_Only if I can do this anywhere I want…And for as long as I want…_" Mimiru's mind calmed down as her big brother's 'warmth' wrapped around her…

"Aaah! Help! Monster!" A scream interrupts the two, causing them to quickly let go of each other. A man comes inside the barracks, panting. He spots both Levant and Mimiru, "Thank the goddess! A soldier is in here! Please help me!" A large vein popped in Mimiru's forehead for being ignored, but proceeded to ask the man about his situation anyway, "What happened?! And what was that about a monster?!"

The man then proceeds to speak, "Me and my buddy were riding in our wagon to deliver goods into this city! But as we were leaving the forest borders, a minotaurus appeared out of nowhere and attacked our wagon! I managed to get away, but my buddy was left in there, trying to take the delivery goods to safety! I arrived at the city gates, but there were no guards on duty. I went inside, there were no guards on patrol either! Please, I beg of you, help me!"

"_That's funny…How the hell are there no guards at all? That's not even possible!_" Levant thinks as he proceeds to console the man, "Okay, I'll help you. The entrance to the forest border, right?" Levant asks the man, who nods in return.  
"Let's hurry then, big bro! This man's friend must have gotten laid by this very moment!" Mimiru speaks in a sarcastic manner while moving out, leaving the man and Levant, whose gearing himself up.

"Who was that brat?!" The man angrily asks Levant, who replies in a deadpan tone before putting on his hood and leaving hastily, "…Mimiru Miltie."

The man's jaw dropped.

* * *

"_You've got to be kidding me…There really isn't anyone around at all!_" Levant mentally exclaimed as he runs across the rooftops of Lescatie's southern district, whereas, as he observed while running, there really isn't a single Templar on patrol…even from when he passed through the central district.

As Levant is free-running his way throughout the rooftops to the southern gate, Mimiru rides throughout the skies on a green colored glyph, which is a wind transportation spell she learned during her first time studying magic.

"_Whoa, that guy from earlier wasn't joking! There really isn't anyone of those Templar jerks out here!_" Mimiru's thought's reflected what she saw: The total absence of Templars around the districts and the area around the gates.

As she flew, a rush of sudden chill ran throughout Mimiru's body, disrupting her concentration for a moment…

"_What in the…What was that surge of magical power?!_" Mimiru thinks as she recognizes the chill she felt just now. It was a surge of magical aura, yet, it was brimming with dark energy at the same time, giving off that cold, intimidating atmosphere, which also got stronger as Mimiru approached the gates from above…

A precaution made itself known as Mimiru descended down to the gates, "_I just hope the monster outside really IS just a minotaurus…I don't wanna lose big bro! Not while I can still breathe and fight!_" Mimiru's fear of the surge of magical aura is slowly changing into courage as she holds her staff tighter…

* * *

"Ufufu…so that's the famous young mage from the organization of human magicians? She does look quite powerful…Although, if you cannot sense her magic, you will be unable to differentiate her from a normal little girl. Aww, so cute…" A monster girl declares as she watches Mimiru from a distance fly her way into the gates. The said monster girl has white hair with horns protruding from behind her head, she has red eyes with the supposed white part are colored black. She also has a pair of white demonic wings, and wears a very revealing set of armory, barely covering her purplish skin.

"Yes, indeed, mistress Deruella. I did not even recognize her as such when I first saw her in the barracks with her companion." A middle aged man whose clothes is in tatters replies to his master, Deruella, who shifts her attention from Mimiru to Levant, who's currently free-running across the rooftops on the way to the southern gates.

"…That boy in the hood. Is he someone well-known as well?" Deruella points to Levant, prompting her companion to reply quickly.

"Ah, you mean the young man in the black robes? He is a member of the Assassin Brotherhood, an infamous branch of the Holy Cross Templars. They are also known as the Discreet Mamono Suppression Department. As for fame, you could say that the organization he belongs to are known to work in the dark, so there isn't much information about them in the open, except if you start sniffing the drawers of the order's high officers." The human companion of Deruella explains.

"Oho? Could you tell me more about these 'Discreet Mamono Suppression Department'?" Deruella asks again, causing her human companion to clear his throat before explaining once again.

"That organization is infamous for preventing organized assaults of mamonos before it could even start. Their method is taking the source of intelligence, power, and organization of the mamono groups by assassinating the important members of these said groups. This assassins are also well known among humans and monsters for being able to easily take anyone's life with relative ease, and disappear like ghosts right after, earning them the fear of the leaders of the pro-monster human factions. In short, mistress, they are the well-rounded chaps who do the dirty work for the chief goddesses' order. Oh, and a fun fact: Due to what they do, they never receive the chief goddess's blessing, making them disposable cannon fodder for the order's conveniences." The human explains to Deruella, who had a sour expression as the explanation finished.

"…To think that she'd face an assassin and a high rank mage at once…Should we not interfere? Minorin might be a minotaurus, but to go against two on one isn't something to sneeze at." Deruella asks as she prepares to leave, but Duran, her companion, stops her before she could take flight.

"Do not worry mistress. From what I have gathered from a certain high priest's drawers, the assassin who is currently with the mage is just a fresh graduate of the brotherhood, and still doesn't have any experience in real monster combat or magic. Even if he could take on humans, he can't take on monsters that easily, most especially against ones with attacks that induce pleasure. So please, do not reveal yourself just yet. And what do you know, he might be the one for Minorin, if you know what I mean." Duran carefully explains to Deruella, who sighs, and returns to watching the human city…

"Very well. I shall observe, then. But I will still interfere should it be necessary." Deruella says as she crosses her arms and observes both Mimiru and Levant from afar.

"Hmm, I wonder what he looks like with his hood off…Humans and their silly fashion sense." Deruella smirks as she thinks of the possible results of today's mischief…

* * *

In the forest borders, southern Lescatie…

"There she is!" Levant whispers to Mimiru as they observe the minotaurus from afar, while hiding under a thick bunch of bushes. The said minotaurus has bright blue eyes, and vibrant red hair that reaches towards her muscular shoulders. She wears a metal chest plate with no cloth beneath, held by a pair of spaulders stationed on her shoulders. She wears a skirt of jaguar fur held by multiple belts. She also appears to be barefoot.

Far behind the minotaurus is an old-aged man with white hair and black eyes, tied and gagged.

"Let's plan this out before we do anything. There's only the two of us, so we've got no choice but to be careful, okay?" Mimiru says in a serious manner, sounding like a professional adult.

"Very well. Do you have a plan?" Levant asks, earning a nod from Mimiru.

"Of course. Listen up, because this is what we are gonna do…" Mimiru then begins explaining her strategy as Levant listened intently…

* * *

"Whoa, boy, those Templars sure are slow. Are they on lunch break or something?" The minotaurus asks herself, but her words causes her human hostage to shiver in fear.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt anyone lest they start swinging at me first. And other than that, I'm just looking for a young and healthy husband-to-be. Don't worry, I'm not that horny to attack old men like you." The minotaurus explains, earning a look from the human hostage that says 'Are you kidding me'? However, she just ignored the tied up man.

A few more minutes later, sleepiness occupies the minotaurus' mind…

As she closed her eyes, a sudden surge of magical energy and a shout jolts her senses, and as she opened them, she saw in front of her a young human girl in the middle of a dancing blue glyph, who shouts, "_Gefrorenen Käfig!_"

As the shout ended, a blue glyph appeared below the minotaurus, a sign that she must dodge in any way possible, and she was just about to do that, when…

Her body wouldn't move!

"Wha…Why can't I-!" The minotaurus screams in panic, as her body felt very, very heavy, like it was held down by gigantic weights. She then takes a look at the little mage before her, and gave her a questioning look as the ice magic glyph is about to finish…

Even with the minotaurus' painful looking stare, Mimiru just puts on a sadistic smile before saying, "Oh no, don't look at me, you horned muscle-bound...something. I would have taken better care of my back earlier if I were you! Ahahaha!"

With all the strength that she can muster, the minotaurus forces her head to get a look behind her from her right side...

…And found five throwing knives impaled on her right shoulder, with a smell she was familiar with: poison. And worse, she also saw a man in black robes with a hood on untying the minotaurus' hostage, much to her displeasure.

A second later, a bright blue pillar of light bursts forth from the glyph below the minotaurus, and as the light subsided, the minotaurus is now encased in a block of ice!

"Err, are we supposed to take her to prison like that? There's no way I can carry that block of ice! It might even melt before I can lift it!" Levant complains as he eyes the frozen minotaurus.

"Don't worry. That block of ice is self-sustaining, as it feeds on the prisoner's own magic energy. And knowing how monsters are like reservoirs of magic energy, she'll stay in there for a long, long time. And as for the transfer, I have my teleportation spells, so we've got nothing to worry about!" Mimiru proudly explains to Levant, who gives off a sigh of release.

"Good thing you were able to throw those knives without being detected or those knives being felt by the monster. Was that magic too, young man?" The freed hostage, the old man, asks Levant, who just shakes his head.

"Yeah, that's right! There's no way that ordinary throwing knives can paralyze a monster, much less a minotaurus, out of all of them!" Mimiru adds, in hopes of seeing Levant's secret.

Levant sighs as he gives up resistance and pulls something from his pockets, "No, it's not magic. But rather, a good mix of strong paralysis poison and high grade anesthesia, which is best for long range stealth kills. The combination is meant for a slow, painless death for humans, but will only cause strong, but undetected paralysis among monsters due to their resistance." Levant explains as he pulls off a vial containing a transparent colored liquid, and shows it to Mimiru and the old man, who both gave an 'ohhh'.

"So then, now that we're done here, let's take the old man and the monster to the headquarters for reporting." Levant declares, earning a nod from the old man,, and Mimiru, who summons multiple teleportation glyphs, enough for everyone, even the frozen minotaurus…

* * *

Meanwhile, at a certain part of the forest borders of Lescatie…

"Gah!" Duran is currently bound by tentacles, as a punishment for an error from earlier…

…Which is his miscalculation of the High Mage Mimiru Miltie, and the unnamed Assassin.

"You…Should have not stopped me when that assassin was already positioning himself…Minorin could have been saved! But because of you and your understatement…" Deruella speaks in an angered tone, due to the capture of her comrade and soldier, the minotaurus Minorin.

"…I wasn't expecting them to be that cunning. But I'll admit: I didn't anticipate that blitzkrieg tactic of theirs…I was sure that the assassin would get caught as he was sneaking behind Minorin…My mistake, my mistress." Duran answers in a calm manner, despite the tentacles around him tightening at every syllable he sends off his mouth.

"And now that you understand that it is your fault, how are you going to compensate for Minorin's life?" Deruella questions Duran, who then begins to explain quickly.

"Have you not noticed, that as of late, many of the monsters to be executed always would get away the day before the execution? Well, that's because…" Duran takes a deep breath before continuing, "We have an pro-monster insider, within the veteran heroes of Lescatie's order."

Deruella appears to remember something as Duran was done speaking. Deruella herself begins to ask, "Now that you mention it…There have been cases of monsters escaping executions, and most of them would end up at our camp, to boot…Say Duran, who is this insider?"

Duran then speaks in a loud, clear manner, "The Maiden of Light, Sasha Folmoon."

Deruella smirks as she recognizes the name…and lets go of Duran.

* * *

"What?! You didn't have a travelling partner?!" Mimiru asks in surprise. After teleporting the monster successfully to the dungeons, the trio went back to the headquarter's lobby…Both Levant and Mimiru took this opportunity to ask the old man about his travelling companion, who isn't present with them…And it was discovered that the old man was actually travelling alone.

"Well, yes. I was travelling alone when this horned monster came out of nowhere and flipped my wagon…" The old man explains.

"I guess that explains the disappearance of our 'guest' from earlier…Fishy bastard. Oi, Mimiru, you remember his face, right?" Levant asks Mimiru, who responds with a nod.

"All right then old man. You are free to deliver your goods around the city as you planned. Me and my partner here will report about our 'friend' to the big guys. okay?" Levant tells the old man, who nods in reply. But before he went out of the headquarters, the old man takes out a large rolled clothe from his bag, and hands it to Levant…

"Here, as a token of my gratitude. Thank you, Sir Levant, and thank you too, Miss Mimiru!" Before Levant could say his welcome, the old man walks out quickly of the headquarters with a contented smile on his face…

Levant then senses the weight of the cloth, and is quite tempted to open it…

"Big Bro, let's look for those lazy ass Templars first! We have a report to make! Let's check the activity board upstairs!" With Mimiru's declaration, the mage and the assassin went to the second floor of the Holy Cross Headquarter, and went straight to the bulletin board…

On the latest list of activities are written…

'Sewer check-up session after lunch. Please proceed to the Lescatie Sewer entrance for details…'

"_You've got to be kidding me…They're in the sewers right now?! Useless bunch of…Ugh, no wonder why they can't know anything that happened upside…_" Levant angrily mutters to himself as he palms his face. To think that the proud Templars would be cleaning sewers rather than be on duty…He felt irritated.

Meanwhile, Mimiru just yawns as she watches Levant check the bulletin board, "Hey, big bro, I wanna go home…I don't think they'd be in the mood to listen to an attack report while cleaning poop…And I don't wanna go to the sewers, either." Mimiru complains as she yawns again…

"…I'm tired too. I'll just leave a written report on the notices, and go back to the orphanage. You may go home first if you'd like." Levant tells Mimiru, who just wordlessly nods and leaves, obviously very tired…

Taking a pen and a piece of paper from the registrar's table, Levant begins to write everything that transpired during the incident with the minotaurus from earlier…

* * *

-A few hours later-

Around the time where the sun has completely set…

At the front of the Goddess's Loving Embrace Orphanage…

"Phew. Finally home. Good thing Lescatie allows rooftop commute…For those who can do it, anyway." Levant says to himself as he jumps from a tree branch, before proceeding to open the gates of the rather large orphanage. He also appears to be carrying a bag of food on his right hand, and the rolled up cloth he received from the old man from earlier carried on his shoulder like a sling bag.

"I'm home!"

Opening the front door, he is then greeted by two little girls. Every time he or Sasha comes home, these two girls are the one to first greet them before all the others…These two are quite close to the two of them, and they even proclaimed themselves as Levant's 'official' little sisters. They even went as far as claiming Levant's last name, Zanvolt.

"Ah! Welcome home, big bro!" The first girl energetically greets Levant as she runs and tackles him in a hug. She has medium length dark brown hair tied by a pair of blue ribbons in a two-ears hairdo… and has dark brown eyes. She also wears a blue colored long dress, with white long sleeves. Her name is Elisha Zanvolt.

"Big bro…Welcome home…" The second girl shyly greets Levant. She has blue eyes, very light brown colored hair that reaches below her waist, and wears a short sleeved blue colored long dress. Her name is Silmeria Zanvolt.

The other group of kids seemed to have noticed Levant's arrival, and like a group of moths heading for one large light bulb, they started greeting Levant at the same time…

"It's big bro Levant!"

"He's back! With food too!"

"Welcome home, big bro Levant!"

Levant gently pats their heads before speaking, "I bought something tasty for everyone today. Who wants to help me cook again? I'll only allow two people this time!"

The two girls who greeted first from earlier managed to raise their hands before everyone else, catching Levant's eye.

"Alrighty then! The two joining me in cooking duty today are…Elisha and Silmeria!"

With a loud cheer, the two of them followed Levant to the kitchen with a smile on their faces, while the other kids cutely pouted…

* * *

Later, at the kitchen…

"Say, Elisha, did Primera take her lunch with her today?" Levant asks his brown haired little sister.

"Yes, big bro! I nagged at her till her face went red and she took it without complaints! Ufufufu!" Elisha proudly states, earning a sweat drop from Levant…

"That's…a good job done!" Levant proceeds to pat Elisha's head.

"Muuu…I did a good job too…Pat my head too, big bro…" Silmeria complains with tears in her eyes, causing Levant to temporarily lose control of his composure as his 'big brother instincts' took over, but managed to limit himself to patting Silmeria's head.

"All right, now that you girls are ready, let's get cooking!" Levant declares as he and his little sisters started their cooking…

* * *

_-An hour and a half later-_

After cooking and having dinner, washing the dishes, and putting all of his little siblings to sleep, Levant finds himself resting on the rooftop of the orphanage, as a result of his recent activity…

"Oh boy…Primera and Ramir are overdoing their duty…again. Can't they at least remember thay have a home? Damn workaholics…" Levant mutters under his breath…

"Oh, what a surprise to find you here this late…" A gentle voice of a woman from beside him grabs Levant's attention from his rest…

Levant takes a look behind him, and finds…

A woman with flowing, long green hair and calming blue eyes. She wears a hat adorned with white feathers on both left and right sides. Her clothes is the standard uniform of the high priestesses of the order, which is a white blouse paired with a blue colored mini-skirt. The blouse also has detached white sleeves. She also wears black colored knee-high stockings and pair of blue and gold heels for her feet…

Levant knows this person…

"Sasha…Don't tell me you're always home this late." Levant reprimands his fellow caretaker of the orphanage, Sasha Folmoon. Other than her job as the said caretaker, she's also one of the highest ranked veteran heroes of Lescatie, superior to even Mimiru, or Lescatie's current strongest rookie knight, Wilmarina Noscrim.

"Please understand. Things are very hectic right now. But if I can finish-" Before Sasha could finish, Levant cuts her off, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I know for one thing being a hero is important, but so is your health! What are you gonna do if you collapse in the middle of the battle field and get eaten or killed?! What about this orphanage?!"

"…I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me. I know about your situation already. It's our little brothers and sisters that you should apologize to! They could only see your face for, like, twice a week! They do not even know why!" Levant angrily reprimands Sasha once again…Who shows a tired and sorrowful face…Levant noticed this, and deciding that it's enough, he decides to switch topics…

"…You know, it was really fun cooking with Elisha and Silmeria today. They have been learning well." Levant speaks in a nostalgic manner, without any hint of anger in it, causing Sasha's face to lit up…

"Really? So what did you guys cook?" Sasha's burdens somewhat lightened up as kept talking…

"Well, we started with…" Levant then explains what kind of food is it that they had cooked, and even discussed with Sasha what is going to be cooked the next day, along with a promise that she'll join the next day…

After and an hour of chatting about different topics, thirst caresses both Levant's and Sasha's throats…

"Ehehe, that was fun. Didn't think you could be this talkative, Levant." Sasha comments as her throat already feels dry, out of talking.

"…Fun times, huh?" Despite his thirsty throat, Levant kept on speaking as he looks up to the starry night sky, "You know, Sasha, despite our situation right now, I still could proudly say that…we are leading a good life."

"Yes…A really good one. Especially when everyone is together, including Primera and the others too…"Sasha replies with a smile…

"Yeah, you're right. It's just that…" Levant speaks in a nostalgic manner, "…I wish it will never change, this life of ours, with everyone…"

Sasha shares them same nostalgic look as Levant as she answered, "I wish as such, too…"

The two of them stared at the stars for a while longer, before retiring back to their rooms and falling into the embrace of sleep…

_-Prologue end-_

* * *

_**"Unfortunately, the clock is ticking, the hours are going by. The past increases, the future recedes. Possibilities decreasing, regrets mounting. Time never waits. It delivers all to the same end."**_

* * *

And done!

I hope you enjoyed the prologue!

Oh, and note:  
_Gefrorenen Käfig_ –means 'frozen cage' in German.


	2. Reunions and Incoming Disasters

_**Author's note: Hello there, dear readers! Been a while, eh? Blame college for that, wahaha! XD**_

_**Now then…without any further delay.**_

_**Let's start!**_

* * *

_**Monster Girl Encyclopedia: Bonds are Unbreakable Chapter 1: "Reunions; Incoming Disasters"**_

* * *

-3rd Person POV-

_Inside a certain mining cave around the outskirts of Lescatie…_

"_Hey, hey, Wilmarina! Look what I found!" A young boy of 10 years old with short, spiky silver hair shouts to a girl from afar as he runs carrying a purple colored gem in his right hand. The said gem gives off a light, vibrant glow of purple light…_

_From a few walks away from the boy was a girl roughly his age. She has short, and smooth silver hair adorned with a black colored hair-crown on her head. She has bright blue eyes and a fair skin, and she also wears a sleeveless, long white dress, and a pair of blue sandals for her feet. She also appears to carry an iron sword, albeit a little smaller in-order to accommodate her size. Her name is Wilmarina Noscrim, the hero apprentice of the Noscrim family._

"_Wah! Don't do that! You scared me! Idiot Levant!" Wilmarina replies in surprise as Levant's shout from earlier shocked her and somewhat disoriented her focused watch for monsters.  
"Okay, okay, sorry 'bout that. Here." The boy called Levant comes closer to Wilmarina and hands over the gem in his hand to the hero apprentice before continuing to speak, "Do you think Francisca will like it for her birthday?"_

_Taking a look at the gem given by Levant, Wilmarina took a long pause before she replied, "…This is an amethyst, Francisca's birthday stone! Where did you get this?! It's a pretty rare stone!"_

"_From mining?" Levant replies, while avoiding eye contact with Wilmarina, who notices it…_

"_Really?"_

"_Yes, really!"_

"_You're lying!"_

"_I'm not!"_

_As the two friends started bickering, a loud, monstrous roar shook the mines, abruptly ending their antics. Or rather, perfectly silencing them for a few seconds._

"…_Did you really mine this?" Wilmarina asks a shaking Levant, who hesitates before opening his mouth…  
_

_"Err…yes?" Came Levant's nervous reply._

"_Then, where did you get this?!" Wilmarina asks in a scolding manner as she prepares her knuckles in case of an another act misbehavior by her best friend…_

"…_From the…dangerous valley of adventures?" Levant hesitantly replies, with sweat rapidly falling from the sides of his face like bullets…_

"_What are you talking about?" Wilmarina's hands are on her hips as she asked that question. Levant, on the other hand, was avoiding eye contact with Wilmarina like the plague…_

"_Uhh…a valley of bouncy treasures? Aha…hahaha…" Levant laughs awkwardly as Wilmarina raised an eyebrow, a sign that she's slowly seeing through Levant's lie…_

"…_You stole this from one of the residing monsters from the deeper parts of the mines, didn't you? Tell me! Tell me!" Wilmarina childishly interrogates Levant , discovering another one of his life endangering mishaps, and causing Wilmarina to give him the dead fish eyes look as a result…_

"…_Okay, okay! You got me!" Levant concedes to Wilmarina's stare, and starts to confess his deed, "I found the gem stuck between…a dragon's gigantic bazongas-I mean, cleavage…"_

_Wilmarina's jaw dropped, "Wha-what?!"_

"_They were so large and so soft and smelled like mom's so…Wa-wait, that came out wrong! I mean, removing the gem was really tough! I couldn't resist groping-err, her cleavage was so tight is what I mean to say! I had to find a way to yank the gem without waking her up!" Levant explains in panic as his tongue suddenly rolled on its own, exposing a part of his manly 'adventures', despite being so young…_

"…_What?!" Wilmarina's face turned beet red at Levant's words, particularly at the 'big', 'soft', 'smelled like mom's', and 'groping'. Her shock was so intense, she threw the amethyst back at Levant in high speed, but not so powerful that it allowed Levant to catch the said gemstone…and pocket it._

"_So…uhh…are we done?" Levant asks while slowly turning his left foot towards the direction of the mine's exit, anticipating danger, but not from the dragon or any other monster…_

…_But Wilamrina's angelic smile and cracking knuckles…_

"_Now, now, Levant…What was that about the dragon's cleavage and groping? Mind elaborating about that part? I wanna hear more about how BIG and SOFT it is!"_

_Levant slowly starts to back off as Wilmarina's eyes are slowly losing their light, a sign for Levant to start begging for his life, "But I'm mostly innocent, I swear!"_

_As Wilmarina was about to give a heavenly punishment to Levant's crotch with her knee, another roar shakes the mines, this time in a closer proximity to the two kids…  
_

* * *

Inside the room of a certain 17 year-old ace rookie knight of Lescatie…

"Gyah!" Wilmarina screams as her nightmare ended. Not used to having such bad dreams, her heartbeat was faster than how it should be every time she wakes up in the morning.

"…It's that dream about the mines again…From 7 years ago…" Sweat was rolling around her face as she massages her forehead…And as she opened her eyes, soft sunlight was the first thing to greet her, disorienting her mind for a short moment…

"Huh? Did I wake up too late, or…" Wilmarina looks around, only to find a few streaks of sunlight pass through the window curtains…

"Just in time, I guess…"

And with that, Wilmarina gets off her bed and was about to begin her morning preparations, when she noticed a certain object placed on top of her dresser. She comes closer and takes the said object, which is a necklace. It had a pendant which is made of a gemstone called emerald. The shape of the pendant appears to be an emblem of an eagle…If one should observe, they would say that it was an expensive gift…

But it was not something that Wilmarina often received from suitors, friends, or from the Templar order…for those things they gave her had no sentimental value whatsoever, and unlike the emerald eagle she is holding now, all the other gifts she received were all subtle attempts by hungry old men from the order to get between her legs…and they failed, obviously, either by Wilmarina's rejection, or her sword and spells.

Clenching the necklace in her hands tighter, she remembers the time when she received this precious gift of hers…

* * *

_-Flashback-_

_6 years ago, in the middle of the night, inside the Wilmarina's room of the Noscrim family's manor, during the aftermath of Wilmarina's 11th birthday…_

_A crying Wilmarina is tightly gripping Levant's hands, in an attempt to prevent him from leaving…_

"_No! Don't go! I'll tell them to let you stay here! Please, I beg of you!" Wilmarina pleads with desperation in her voice, as she is truly intent on preventing her best friend from leaving._

_But Levant, on the other hand…_

"_I thought I told you, I can't stay here! They already fired mom, and even attempted to kill her when she begged to stay for work! If they find out that I'm here, I'll get executed for sure! I'm sorry…" Levant explains with a tint of hatred in his voice, especially after seeing the guards of the Noscrim Manor drag his mother like a doll out of the manor's gates, threw her to the ground, and even spat at her. No longer able to take the abuse, Levant himself rushes towards the guards, grabbed his mother, and ran. The guards chased after him, of course, but Wilmarina herself happened to see the whole thing happen and managed to stop the guards by threatening them of being fired for 'hurting her personal attendants'._

"_But if you leave…I'll be all alone…" Tears were falling from Wilmarina's eyes as she spoke out these words. Her grip on Levant's arms became even tighter as Levant tried to shake her off, with little success._

"_I'm sorry. I can't leave mom alone too. She…got hit by the plague. I need to find a way to make a lot of money to buy medicine and cure her…" Levant explains in a sorrowful voice as he kept on trying to shake off Wilmarina from his arm, "I really have to get out of here. That haughty old butler might come in at any moment…Please, let me go…" Levant continues to shake Wilmarina off as he said those words. Her grip only restricted further, however…She saw the determined look on Levant's eyes, and realizes that no matter how much she begs, he won't stay, causing her to loosen her grip._

"_Thank you." Says Levant as he backs away from Wilmarina, "Oh, and by the way…I have something for you… " Levant takes out something from his pockets as Wilmarina watched in curiousity. A moment later, an eagle shaped emerald pendant is placed on Wilmarina's palms by Levant._

"_Happy 11th birthday, best friend!" Levant happily greets, like nothing had happened earlier. However, there was some sort of disappointment in Wilmarina's face as soon as Levant said the last part._

"_Is this for me…? Thank you…Levant." Wilmarina clenched the pendant hard as she tried to forget the fact that this is the last day that she'll see her best friend, and does her best to avoid another outburst of tears…_

…_Only for her emotions to explode even more as Levant suddenly hugs her._

"_I'm sorry, Wilamrina. I want to leave…" Levant apologetically says as he caresses the back of Wilmarina's head, "But, I promise…That when I grow up and had become stronger, I'll come back here, and I'll take you away from this place, and live like how we want right after! Like those adventurers from the story books mom used to read for us!" Levant's hug became tighter as his heart was already pumping his emotions hard, as the feeling of leaving a precious friend alone was starting to get to him. Wilmarina herself is crying out loud at this point, and is hugging back Levant._

"_I promise, I'm gonna come back. Someday."_

"_Then, I promise that I will wait for you!" Wilmarina declares as she slowly lets go of Levant. Both of their eyes and faces are soaked in tears…_

"_Goodbye, best friend. Wait for me, okay?" Levant says as he slowly backs off, before turning to the nearest window of the room that he can find, opens it, and jumps from there._

"…_Goodbye…" Wilmarina softly says as she watches Levant leave with an old man in robes, who appears to be in his eighties. From what she could remember, the old man is a sort of mentor to Levant. But that is not important to Wilmarina right now…_

"_I'll wait for you, no matter how long… So, don't forget about me, okay?" Wilamrina softly mutters as Levant's silhouette fades into the darkness of the night…_

_And so, as her childhood friend left, Wilmarina, the young girl in love, began her long sleep, eagerly awaiting her 'hero'. And in her place, was born Wilmarina the Hero, the girl who fights for the nation of Lescatie, thinking of nothing more than the good of her country and fellowmen, and in atonement for what her family did to her best friend's family..._

_-Flashback end-_

* * *

"…I hope that you haven't forgotten those words, Levant." Wilmarina says as she places the emerald eagle necklace back on her dresser, "For it is the reason I…lived and fought to this day. I'm still waiting…for you."

Finally having enough of the nostalgia, Wilmarina proceeds to the bathroom of her room, readying herself for another day as '_Wilmarina the Hero_'…

* * *

Inside Levant's room, in the Goddess' Loving Embrace Orphanage…

"Hmm…So this is what the official uniform looks like. Not that I complain or anything, but, why did it had to be robes, again? It makes us look like those goddess fanatics praying on the streets…"

After cooking and eating breakfast with his little siblings, preparing his lunch, and having a warm bath, Levant now stands in front of a mirror, and examines his new official uniform, or rather, robes.

As for what the robes look like, the upper body of the robes featured a hood that was shaped like

an eagle's beak in the center; this was connected to the main part of the robes, which were jet black. The main body part, the chest area, is closed by the robe. It also has long sleeves reaching till the hands. Levant also wears black colored fingerless gloves. Around the back was a belt containing a sheath for two short blades, which was buckled below the shoulder.

The lower portion was two-layered, with the inner layer of the robes extending down lower than the outer layer. They are also vertically open on the front, the back, and the sides for easier movements. Around the waist is a wide, red sash with a set of leather sheaths for knives at the front and pouches at the sides able to contain small supplies. Beneath the layers, Levant wore a pair of black pants and a low-cut, light leather black boots that are made to fit to his lower feet by three small black belts, allowing Levant easier movement when running, climbing, and jumping.

"Well, beggars can't be choosers, they say. Which is why they will just pick up whatever they will find on the ground."

Levant then proceeds towards his bed to gear up, as his personal set of weaponry is laid there.

The first set of weaponry that Levant equips are a pair of hidden blades, concealed beneath a pair of black colored vambraces. The blades are operated to spring and retract from below the forearm through a button that uses a system known as the pressure plate system, where only a flick of the wrist is required to spring and retract the blade from beneath the forearm. This pair of hidden blades are most useful when going in for a quick stealth kill, or when in close combat. These hidden blades are the 'uniform' weapons for the members of the Assassin brotherhood.

The second weapons Levant picks up are his throwing knives. They are half the size of a normal knife, but they can be deadly weapons from afar or melee when aimed accurately and discreetly towards an enemy's weak point, or when dipped and infused with chemicals such as poison. Levant stores the knives in the leather sheaths found in front of his sash.

The third set of weaponry is a trio of small medicine vials, with a different color marking on each cap.

The first vial has a violet skull, a color that indicates poison. The poison is mixed very well with a special kind of anesthesia, which numbs the senses of the body part it first comes in contact with the moment it penetrates through the target's skin. This is useful when going for a stealth kill. Although, so far, it has only proven fatal for humans. Monsters appeared to be able to recover after a few hours from the poison, without a problem.

The second vial has a blue colored half-moon, a mark that indicates sleeping liquid with anesthetic properties, used when the target is only to be captured intact, or when avoiding kills during an infiltration to avoid suspicion from the area.

The last vial has a red cross, a mark that indicates medicine. This medicine's mixture speeds up the healing process of wounds taken, and even has pain killer properties, so that the user can keep fighting when wounded or be allowed to escape without bearing the pain.

Levant takes the three vials unto the pouches on the left side of his sash, and proceeds to take the last set of weaponry he needs to equip…

His most trusted pair, the twin short blades. He takes hold of the two blades, gives them a few test swings, and sheathes them onto the sheath on his back. He then proceeds to put on his hood…

But before he leaves, Levant picks up a set of feathers and places them inside his sash. These feathers are to serve as 'markers' for an assassin's deeds. One example would be when a successful stealth kill on a target is achieved, allowing the assassin the leave the feather on the victim's body, as a sign that it was an assassin who did it. This is also done when an assassin kills any criminals not related onto any assassination missions, like robbers, thieves, bandits, etc.

"Alright! Now that I'm all set, time to leave!"

Levant proceeds to the window of his room, opens it, and dives right out of it. The cold sensation of morning air wraps around his body as he descended, informing him that today is a good day for a rooftop commute to the Templar headquarters.

A few seconds later, Levant emerges from a hay bale that's found straight below his window, which was 4 stories from above ground. As he jumped out of the hay bale, however…

"Wha…what sorcery is this?! Are you alright in there, sir?!" A girl's voice rang loudly from outside the orphanage's gates, causing Levant to take a look at the source of the voice…

The girl has long, flowing black hair adorned by two red colored talisman-like tubes on the side locks of her hair, and a large ribbon tied at the tip of her hair at the back. She has eyes that matched the color of her hair. She appears to wear a kind of clothing found only around the east, something called a kimono. In the girl's case, her kimono is a combination of the color flesh and and red, adorned with a large red ribbon on her hips.

The lower part of her clothing, colored deep red, appears to be layered. The outer layer reaches below the knees, but is opened around the frontal area, revealing the inner layer, which is a short skirt. She appears to wear white colored knee-high stockings, and a pair of black and red slippers for her feet.

Based on his own observation, Levant concludes that this girl is obviously from the oriental eastern part of the world, the region known as Zipangu.

Wanting not to be appear rude, Levant proceeds to climb and jump off the gates, and lands before the oriental looking girl.

"…Err, yes, I'm okay. Thank you for asking." Levant casually replies, before continuing, "Those clothes…You are from Zipangu, right? What brings you here in Lescatie?" Levant asks, aware that it is quite rare for people from a region that coexists with monsters to visit a land that totally despises monsters.

The oriental girl raised an eyebrow before she replies, "Are you not supposed to introduce yourself before asking questions from a stranger?"

"_Oh, right. Zipangu's customs. I'm supposed to introduce myself first before anything else…_" Levant mentally reprimands himself as he clears his throat out of embarrassment, before speaking, "I'm sorry about that. I forgot about the customs from your place. My name's Levant Zanvolt. So, what brings you to Lescatie, miss…?"

The oriental girl proceeds to bow before speaking, "Koyoi. Amanomiya Koyoi, a monster slayer from the east. But please just call me Koyoi, for my last name is quite…tedious for elongated conversations." After speaking, Koyoi then pulls out an envelope from her pocket. On it is written 'For General Dascaros of the Snake's Lance.' Levant was pretty much surprised on how such a gentle looking girl was an eastern monster slayer, but that did not stop him from losing his focus.

"I am looking to deliver this letter for the Templar squad 'The Snake's Lance', and its unit captain, a woman named Mersé Dascaros. I was told by the patrolling Templars around here that a member of her squad lives inside the 'Goddess' Loving Embrace' Orphanage, named Levant Zanvolt. Are you him?" Koyoi speaks in a monotone voice. Taking a good look of her eyes from inside the hood of his robes, Levant observed how Koyoi's eyes are so…deprived of life. It was so different from her frantic screams of concern from earlier when she saw him jump from a window 3 stories above…

"Well…I AM a member of that squad. A newly recruited one, anyway. I can deliver the letter for you, Miss Koyoi." Levant explains, earning a nod from the oriental girl.

Koyoi then hands the letter to Levant, "Very well. I shall leave it to you, Zanvolt-san. Please take this and deliver it to your unit captain. I must hurry and take my leave." And with that, Koyoi quickly disappears from Levant's eyesight within a few seconds, surprising even the assassin himself, whose skill in disappearing from someone's eyes is just as feared. But to Levant, a gentle looking girl with a pretty face doing the said feat is much more admirable…and fearsome.

Levant shook off the surprise and started looking for a wall to scale, while thinking about what he just saw, "_That was weird. Oh, screw that, almost everything from Zipangu IS weird. I mean, just how much craziness and balls does it take to co-exist with monsters like a group of people in a community? I don't find it bad, but…are the monsters really that civilized? I wonder how it's like to talk to a monster like how you talk to people…without getting killed for the next 10 minutes._" After spotting a fairly low house leading to much taller buildings, Levant starts to scale it, and within a few seconds, the assassin now runs across the rooftops of Lescatie…

* * *

Across the rooftops of Lescatie…

"Ahh…the feeling of the fresh morning air on my face…" Even as he was running, jumping, and scaling at high speed, Levant took the opportunity and time to enjoy the fresh morning air. Although, due to his 'uniform', only his face can fully enjoy the cool embrace of the morning wind. But still, he was having the run of a very quiet morning…

"Hey, get down, now!" The voice of a man rings out loud, catching Levant's attention. Stopping in his tracks, he looks for the source of the voice, only to find an archer across the rooftop from where he is. Thanks to the archer's interruption, Levant's quiet morning was disturbed. However, as Levant stared at him, the archer seemed familiar to the assassin…

"…_Oh. It's that archer I caught last time. Reading eroticas on the rooftop, again? They allow rooftop commute her in Lescatie, you know? It's a crime for a soldier to tell people to get down…just so that you can read those...things in public…_" Levant palmed his face as he observes the archer quickly hide a small book into his pocket.

"I said, go down! No peasants allowed up here!" The archer, garbed in little armor and equipped with only a bow and a set of arrows, warns Levant, who pops a smirk on his face before disappearing from the eyesight of the archer…

"Phew. Damn assassins. I still remember the last time one of them reported me for slacking up here on the rooftops. But that was because I didn't see 'em. Now then, for that doujin…" The archer mumbles onto himself as he pulls out a small book, entitled 'Magical Echidna Alipheese-chan'. He then sits at the edge of the rooftop he's on…

"Ohohoho. Alipheese-chan is so damn sexy! Who gives a shit if she's a monster girl? She turns me on! Only if monsters WERE actually like these…damn, I seriously wish they were!" The archer incoherently mumbles, unaware of the creeping black figure behind him…who kicks him, causing him to fall down straight into a merchant stand two stories below…

The archer's scream filled the air as he fell, "Oh my goddess!"

* * *

A second later, an archer fell into one of the merchant stands, alerting the patrolling Templars around the area. When they checked the scene…

"…Ah, it's that archer again."

"…Who?"

"The infamous one who hides on the rooftops to read eroticas and cheesy love novels?"

"…Check his belongings."

And the 4 Templars weren't wrong. Searching the unconscious archer's body, they found three volumes of 'Fluffy Magical Fox Tamamo' in one pouch, 4 volumes of 'Magical Girl Alma Elma-chan' in another pouch, and one newly released volume of 'Magical Echidna Alipheese-chan' in the archer's hands…

"Let's arrest the guy and get one of the books for evidence…I'm pretty sure he fell asleep while reading these…" One Templar suggested.

"…Let's keep the rest." The unit captain suggested, earning a nod and a bro-fist from his unit members…

* * *

"…Pffft…Ahahaha!" Levant couldn't hold his laughter as he watched the archer, now awake and crying, is being arrested by the Templar patrol on charges of 'Unreasonable vile acts on public property' and 'Slacking off on the job.'

"And that's why you don't read eroticas on the rooftops. You read them at your room!" Levant says before turning around, and proceeding to free-run his way to the Templar headquarters. As he runs and jumps through the rooftops, he still enjoyed the sight of the busy people filling the streets, since for him, it's the sign of life in an extremely large city…The very sight of many people made him alive, for some reason…

"Kyaaah! Someone, help me, please!"

A scream rings out from somewhere below the rooftops, stopping Levant in his tracks. Following the source of the voice, he arrives on a rooftop above the back alleys of the business district…

* * *

"Now, now, young lady, it would be wise of you to just stop moving, and have fun with us strong men, ya know." A robber, holding a knife in his left hand, slowly approaches a cloaked young woman cornered into a wall of the back alley. Two more bandits await behind the first one, standing beside each other, banishing the cloaked woman's hope of ever escaping…

"That's right, why don't you just strip that cloak and let us see your goods, hmm? You'll live longer that way…" One of the robber's lackeys declares as he looks at the cloaked woman, whose body and face are fully covered by her cloak. But the trembling of her body and her covering of her head with her hands did not cover her fear, much to the robber's pleasure.

Unbeknownst to the three robbers, Levant jumps from the rooftops, brandishing hidden blades from his forearms in mid-air, before descending towards the robber's two lackeys…and stabs the back of their shoulders with the hidden blades dipped in sleeping liquid, while landing on their backs and using their bodies for safe landing. The loud sound of bodies hitting the ground alerted the first robber, causing him to look behind…

…Only to find his two allies lying on the ground, making a light snore, with the assassin standing between their bodies, shocking the robber.

Taking advantage of the robber's shocked state, Levant runs and jumps towards him at high speed, grabbing the robber's equipped left hand with his right and landing his left foot on the robber's right leg while in mid-air, before brandishing a hidden blade from his left forearm at the same time. Within a split second, the sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed throughout the alley as Levant's hidden blade is planted into the robber's right shoulder area.

With the body of the robber lying on the ground, Levant proceeds to retract his hidden blades with a flick of his wrist, and declares, "Don't worry, I'm not the stab-happy type. You won't die, but you will just fall asleep for a while, thanks to that sleeping liquid I used. Killing you off isn't my job. Executing criminals are for the Templars." He then proceeds to take out a feather from his sash, and leaves it onto the robber's bloodied shoulder, leaving a sign that it was an assassin who knocked out this vile criminal.

* * *

The assassin, now clear of any danger, then proceeds to console the cloaked woman from earlier, who now places a hand on her chest out of relief. Before Levant could start speaking, the cloaked woman began to speak. "Thank you so much, sir! I don't know what could have happened to me if you didn't arrive…"

"It's alright. You're welcome." Levant says before taking a look at the sleeping robbers, and then at the cloaked woman before continuing to speak, "Although, an advice: Don't take the back alleys when you're alone or unarmed. As you can see, robbers and rapists _love_ women who pass through these back alleys unprepared. Where were you going that you had to pass through here, anyway?" Levant asks the cloaked woman, who cheerfully answers his question without skipping a heartbeat, as if she did not get attacked at all.

"Well, I was gonna go to the Templar headquarters, when these guys popped out of nowhere and started harassing me. You see, I'm an envoy to the dwarf village. I'm supposed to deliver a letter to them today. I was going to the Templar headquarters to get the letter, but I got lost and ended up here…" The woman explains to Levant, who nods in understanding.

"I see. I guess I can escort you then. I know the way." Levant says as he proceeds to leave the alley, with the woman following after him.

"So, what's your name, mister hoody?" The woman cheerfully asks, earning a raised eyebrow from Levant, although the woman couldn't see this due to his hood.

Despite being displeased at the odd nickname, Levant proceeds to answer anyway, "I'm Levant Zanvolt. How about you, miss?" The assassin asks in a casual manner, prompting the cloaked woman to remove the hood of her cloak, revealing the face of a beautiful woman with long, jet black hair, has black colored eyes beneath a pair of glasses, and beautiful fair skin. From what Levant could see, she's probably the same age as he is.

"I'm Saphirette Spherica, an explorer, envoy, scholar, and adventurer! Nice to meet you, Sir Levant!"

"_That's a lot of…jobs._" Levant mentally comments before proceeding to reply to Saphirette, "Nice to meet you as well, Miss Saphirette. Shall we proceed to headquarters?" Levant asks the scholar-envoy, who nods in reply…

"But, what about them?" Saphirette points to the sleeping figures of the three robbers, prompting Levant to reply in a surprised tone…

"Oh, right. I'll need to report them to the nearest patrols…"

* * *

_Around the Military District of Lescatie…_

After reporting the incident with the three robbers to the nearby patrols, Levant gets asked by the same patrolling Templars to escort Saphirette to the Templar headquarters, and gets advised to pass through the Military district of Lescatie to prevent further danger…  
Walking through the said district, Saphirette couldn't help but look around with curiousity as she walked alongside Levant in the Military District…

"So, are you a Templar as well, Sir Levant?" Saphirette asks Levant, who shrugs before answering…

"Well…I guess you could say that." Levant replies, before mentally noting in his head, "_But I am an unblessed one, though. More like cannon fodder._"

"Hmm…I see." Saphirette says, before something caught her attention, "Hey, what is that building for? The one over there…" Saphirette points to a wide building with a tall tower at its middle. Levant sees where Saphirette was pointing at, and replies.

"That's the military library. They keep information about military training, history, and monster in the books found in there." Levant explains as Saphirette's eyes sparkled at the mention of 'monsters'. And as such…

"Sir Levant, I have a request…"

"Yes, Miss Saphi…rette?" Levant suddenly paused in his words as he sees a…troubling sparkle in Saphirette's eyes…

"Let's go in there! In the Library!" Without waiting for Levant's answer, Saphirette drags him towards the large building…

"Wai-wait! I still have a mission to tend to-"

"Screw that! This is for **KNOWLEDGE!**" Saphirette irrationally replies as stars sparkled in her eyes while dragging Levant, much to the latter's dismay…

"General Mersé's gonna impale me on a halberd…on my first day…such misfortune." Levant almost silently complains as he and Saphirette are nearing the library's guards…

"Then impale her with your _spear_ of _manliness_! She'll quickly forgive you for sure!" Saphirette incoherently replies to Levant, who had a shocked and red face at realizing what her words implied…

"Wha…what?!"

A few moments later, the assassin and the scholar are given a paper of permit by the guards, and with that, the two of them proceeded to enter the gigantic military library of Lescatie…

* * *

"Wow…So much books! I didn't think military people are this studious!" Saphirette airily declares as she admires the sight of so many books lined up on multiple tall shelves, the topics ranging from military history, war tactics, monster anatomy, and the history of Lescatie.

Saphirette proceeds to take a book about Lescatie's history, before taking a look at Levant, "Could you please wait for me a bit? Please, please, please?" Begging incoherently as soon as she held the book, Levant could only sigh at Saphirette's antics, and he concedes to her by silently giving a small nod. With Levant's approval, Saphirette happily takes a seat in one of the library's wide tables, and starts reading…

"_Damn it. If it wasn't for the fact that she's an important envoy, I would've escaped as soon as possible. My mission at the squad is waiting! What to do, what to do…_" Levant starts walking around the library by himself as he tries to think up of a way to get Saphirette to the Templar headquarters and get this business done…

Drowned in his own thoughts, Levant did not see a figure who's currently reading a book in front of him…causing Levant to crash at that person…

"Gah!"

"Kyah!"

The force of the crash was quite strong that it knocked down Levant and the person he crashed onto. Falling on his back on the floor, Levant slowly stands up, with his hood being pulled up by gravity while doing so, revealing his face.

The person he crashed into was also standing up, and appeared to be a girl around his age, with short silver hair and blue eyes. She also wears a white colored two-layered dress with blue puffy sleeves, with a skin fit blue cloth covering her entire arm, and iron vambraces at her forearms. She also wears a red cape and carries with her a sword, signifying her status as a hero.

The lower area of her dress has two layers, with the outer layer reaching below the knee area, while open at the frontal area showing the inner layer, which is a mini-skirt. She also wears blue colored stocking that reach above the knee till the lower area of her legs, and wears a pair of brown knee-high boots for her feet.

The girl and Levant took a good look at each other's face for a few seconds after she and Levant were already standing straight. Both of them had a shocked look on their face as they recognized each other…especially Levant.

"W-Wilmarina?!"

"Levant?! Is that…you?!"

Levant was about to reply, but before he could do so, Wilmarina quickly glomps him in a hug, tears visible in her eyes…

At that very moment, '_Wilmarina the Hero_' temporarily fell asleep, giving way to '_The true Wilmarina_'…

"…It's been so long! I haven't seen you for a long time! I really missed you!" Wilmarina says as she lets go of Levant, who has a red face due to Wilmarina's earlier action, the hug. But despite his initial surprise, he still manages to reply to her.

"…I missed you too, best friend. It's been quite some time ever since I arrived from my training with my mentor, but this is the first time I've seen you in 7 years…" Levant says as he sizes up Wilmarina, "You got taller! You seem to be well fed too!" Levant comments at Wilmarina, who had a slightly pouty face at that.

"Are you…are you saying I got fat?!" A vein plopped in Wilmarina's forehead as she asked that question. Levant, on the other hand, pops a smirk on his face as he kept on teasing her.

"I didn't say that. I only said that you only got a bit wider-" Before he could finish his statement, Levant is abruptly assaulted by an embrace from Wilmarina, earning her a deep face of red from the assassin. This then got worse when Wilmarina suddenly rubs her face on Levant's own, treating him to the soft sensation of her cheeks…

"Wha…what are you doing?! Stop it! Someone might see us! Do you want to _send my head flying off my shoulders_ or something?!" Levant exclaims as he attempts to stop Wilmarina, who just kept on hugging him and rubbing her face on his own…like a 10-year old girl greeting her best friend that she hasn't seen for a long time…

"What are you saying? We always do this back then! And now, we rarely get the chance to do so! So why not take it? And besides, there's no one at the library at this time of the day!" Wilmarina airily states as Levant manages to move his head around enough to confirm that there is no one around, before replying…

"Well, if you say so…Just hurry up with it…B-but, it's not like I'm enjoying this or anything…" Levant shyly concedes to Wilmarina, who giggles and stopped rubbing her face on Levant's own, but kept on hugging him anyways…

"_He feels…warm._" Wilmarina mentally comments as she feels Levant's body heat… "_He really grew up…_"

"_Her bazongas have grown quite much since last time…impressive-wait, why am I thinking of that at a time like this?! Ahh, damn you, my manly instincts!_" Levant mentally face palms as the feeling of Wilmarina's…chests are causing complications to his usually cold and calculating mind…and causing him to close his eyes out of shyness. Wilmarina does the same as well…It didn't take too long before Levant couldn't resist and hugged back Wilmarina…

However, it seems that fate is not so kind to most people, and will tend to interfere at the most opportune moment…

"What is the meaning of this, Wilmarina?! To think that you'd let that _filth_ take advantage of you!" A voice suddenly interrupts Levant and Wilmarina's moment, causing the both of them to open their eyes and look for the source of the voice…which was an old looking man in priestly garbs…

"Oh…shit." Levant nonchalantly says as he recognizes the man before him…

"Oh no…" Wilmarina is sweating bullets as she recognizes the man in front of her and her best friend, "F-father?! How long have you been there?!"

Wilmarina's father then replies in an angered tone of voice, "Ever since you made contact with that _unblessed filth_! And for that…" The old man then points his finger at Levant before shouting, "Guards! Guards! Bring me the head of that assassin!"

Wilmarina was in shock of her father's declaration, while Levant already puts on his hood and has already started running and climbing for the nearest window he finds inside the library…and breaks through it!

* * *

A hooded figure suddenly breaks out of one of the library's windows, surprising the nearby guards.

Not wasting even a split second, Levant runs as fast as his feet can take him, away from the direction of the library, where a group of heavily armored soldiers has just went out of, looking for him.

"Ah! Over there, Assassin!" One of the heavily armored soldiers shouted, alerting his allies as he pointed towards Levant, who just kept running. Without hesitation, they chased after the assassin…But compared to the latter, the running speed of the soldiers appeared to be hampered by their heavy armor and weapons…

"_Sending heavily armored brutes with broadswords and axes against a guy who runs in robes, can scale buildings, and run through rooftops? Seriously, Cardinal Noscrim?_" Levant mentally muses as he pulls out a bag of coins from his wallet, opens it, and spills its contents at random directions while running, catching the attention of beggars and broke, greedy soldiers alike…

…And causing them to start a rumble of grabbing the coins, getting in the way of the armored soldiers that are chasing Levant, and causing them to end up crashing onto the beggars and other soldiers due to the momentum caused by the weight of their armors while running, stumbling the armored soldiers and buying Levant time to scale one of the nearest walls he can find…and found one, he did.

"Damn it, he's getting away!"

"Get out of the way-oh look, gold coins!"

"I can't see him anymore! Screw this, I'm getting those coins!"

"I love you, random assassin!"

Giving up on the chase, the soldiers went straight to join the rumble for the coins left by Levant. Meanwhile, the aforementioned assassin is on his way to the Templar headquarters as he runs across the rooftops of Lescatie once more…But as he ran, Levant's heart and mind was invaded by a certain feeling he had always hated, even back when he was of young age…

…The feeling of being weak and unable to do anything in his own power, the same reason why he couldn't become a full Knights Templar, the same reason of failure to save his mother, and most of all, the same reason why Wilmarina is still bound by her greedy mess of a father's whims and wishes…

"_I'm sorry, Wilmarina. Right now, I do not have the strength. Please, wait for me a little bit longer…I promise, as soon as I find a way to get more 'power', I'll save you…and free you! I won't fail. I won't lose anyone I love ever again!_"

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the squad room of the Snake's Lance Squad, in the headquarters of the Holy Cross Templars…

"Damn newbies…Always late like some damn VIP!"

A female general complains as she paces back and forth inside the squad room she's in.

She has grey eyes and grey hair tied up, and a normal skin tone. She wears a metal chest plate beneath a green-colored long sleeve military uniform, with black gloves fully covering the entirety of both her hands. She also appears to carry a halberd in one of her hands.

She also wears a pair maroon short shorts held by a belt bearing the insignia of Lescatie. The length of her shorts exposes scars from both of her legs, obviously from battles with monsters. As for her feet, she wears a pair of brown colored knee-high stockings and armored greaves.

This war general is known by the name of Mersé Dascaros, a famous war general who has fought and survived wars with monsters. But as of right now, her experiences didn't seem to matter, as not even one of her 'new' students had shown up.

Mersé gives off a sigh as she eyes the clock hanging by the northern wall of the squad room, "It's about to hit noon. Damn, I'll just have a drink and…"

As Mersé was about to give up waiting and leave the room, a hooded figure suddenly jumps in from the squad room's main window, alerting her and making her ready her halberd on reflex…

Seeing her reaction, the hooded figure raises his hands before speaking, "Whoa, whoa, easy! I'm a squad member! My name's Levant Zanvolt!" After saying that, Levant proceeds to pull up his hood, revealing his face to Mersé, who takes a long good look at his face before taking out a piece of paper from a pocket of her uniform…

"Zanvolt, Zanvolt…ah! There you are!" Mersé cheerfully points out the last name found in the paper she pulled out earlier, "So, they sent an assassin this time, eh? Oh well, doesn't matter that much. Let's get started! At least, I got myself a unit member who's actually on time! To be honest, I don't know if I should slap you or kiss you for arriving!" Mersé declares as she gestures to Levant to leave the room, earning a confused look from the assassin.

"Neither is fine, thank you. But 'get started?' On what?" Levant asks Mersé, who gives him an excited look…

"For the first day of our training as a squad, of course! Even with just the two of us, we're still a squad! So move that robed ass and go!" Mersé ecstatically declares as she exits the room…

"…Well, at least she's…dedicated. Unlike the other Templar Generals, anyway…" Levant unenergetically mutters as he follows Mersé out of the room…

* * *

In the training courtyard of the Holy Cross Templars headquarters…

"Alright! For today's lesson, we will start with-"

"Wa-wait!" Levant suddenly cuts off Mersé, who raises an eyebrow.

"Oh come on. What is it?" Mersé asks in an irritated tone, prompting Levant to hurriedly take an envelope from one of his pouches…

"Here. It was delivered by a girl named Koyoi Amanomiya, a monster slayer from Zipangu. She said to give this letter to you." Levant explains before handling a letter to Mersé, who had a curious look on her face as she received the letter, and opens it.

"Hmmm." Mersé kept on silently reading the letter, while Levant just watched.

It took a while before Mersé closes the letter and begins to speak, "Looks like we got ourselves a mission. Luckily enough, it's just a B rank escort mission." Levant listened intently as Mersé kept on explaining, "We are going to escort a scholar-envoy named Saphirette Spherica to the Zipangu's dwarf haven. With our members not available for the moment, I guess the both of us will have to do some borrowing from the other squads…Say, Levant, do you know someone?" Mersé asks Levant, who places a finger on his chin, before someone strikes his memory…

"…I have a friend who's a mage. I also know an archer." Levant says as Mersé looked intrigued at his words as he kept speaking, "The mage goes by the name of Mimiru Miltie, while the archer is known by the name of Primera Concerto. I believe you've heard of them?"

"That little magical girl and the emo elf? Of course!" Mersé declares as she proceeds to leave the training courtyard, "I guess we have a mage, an assassin, an archer, and me, a spearman. All that's left is a swordsman and a priestess, at least. And lucky for us," Mersé kept on speaking, "I happened to get along with those last two. I guess I'll have to go and borrow them! You go get the magical girl and the unhappy elf, Levant!" And with that, Mersé leaves Levant's eyesight. For some reason, the words '_emo elf_' and '_little magical girl_' won't leave the insides of his ears…but he shakes it off anyway, and focuses on the task at hand.

"Hmm…It IS about lunchtime. Time to wait at the barracks… As for Primera, I'll look for her around the forest borders this afternoon…But, to think that the person I'll be escorting is that book loving scholar…Today is really just full of surprises…" Levant mutters as he thinks of what to say to Mimiru to have her temporarily join the Snake's Lance Squad…

…In a few minutes, Levant is in the barracks, preparing lunch along with the other Templars, while waiting for Mimiru…

* * *

Around the business district of Lescatie…

"Okay! Now that I'm done with the gravity reversal magic, time for the magic of love! Ufufufu…" Mimiru declares unto herself as she jogs excitedly on the side of the street.

Today was another usual day for Mimiru Miltie. She was going to eat lunch with her big bro again today.

As she jogged on the streets, Mimiru caught sight of two children, a boy carrying a little girl who's currently crying in the boy's shoulder. From what she could see, Mimiru deduced that the two are siblings. As she watches the spectacle before her, Mimiru remembers the first day she met him…her 'big bro'…

* * *

_-Flashback: A few years ago, sometime prior to meeting Levant-_

_Ever since becoming a mage, her daily routine has changed from a kid's mornings into a mature adult's scheduled life. At first, the routine only consisted of waking up, eating breakfast, training at Magitec, eat lunch at Magitec, more training at Magitec, go home, eat dinner, sleep. And then, rinse and repeat._

_Even then, as she would pass through some districts, she would often see sights of children her age, both boys and girls, playing around freely, having no care around the world. At first, Mimiru only ignored them, believing that her current status as being recognized as genius is enough joy for her and her parents. She was happy, with learning magic and all that._

_Well, she was happy. Until a certain sight unfolded before her._

_While walking around the streets, she caught sight of a girl, also her age, being bullied by a group of teenage boys in noble clothes. From what she could hear, the boys are ridiculing the poor girl for having no parents and being peniless, easily telling Mimiru that the said girl is an orphan, with no family to defend her._

_Mimiru herself was about to step in, when a hooded figure entered the scene. Without delay, the hooded figure proceeds to skillfully beat the lights out of the nobles, resulting in each of them earning a damaged face from the hooded figure's fists and feet. In a few moments, the nobles ran away, threatening the hooded figure that they'll call the city guards if he appears before them again, before running back to their large homes._

_However, the sight after the fight is what shook Mimiru. The hooded figure approaches the girl in rags, who is now crying, and carries her in his arms, like a small child. As Mimiru watched, she could hear bits and pieces of the conversation between the hooded figure and the girl in rags…_

"_Are you hurt anywhere, Silmeria? Did they touch you?"_

"_*sob*…Nope, big bro Levant. *sob* You arrived just in time…*sob*… I was…really scared…*sob*Uwaaah! *sob*" The girl in rags says as she buries her face, crying onto the hooded figure's chest…_

_The hooded figure, revealed to be the girl's older brother, softly caresses the back of the girl's head while saying, "There, there. Don't worry, they won't come back. Big bro is here…"_

_The very touching sight disturbed Mimiru for many nights, as realization was slowly dawning on her as each day of her routine repeated itself…_

_Even with her great magic, people feared and admired her at the same time, but never cared for her in the slightest._

_Even with all the money, her parents never actually looked at her like their beloved little daughter, only believing her to be their walking money maker._

_Even with the fact that she's still a small child, the adults use her for their protection instead, when it was supposed to be the other way around to begin with._

_Despair and hatred reigned Mimiru's will to live, realizing that her 'freedom as a child' has been taken away by greedy adults, who only want their own survival against monsters without an ounce of care for those that protect them. A little more, and Mimiru could have sworn, she would've ended her own miserable existence, that is, till he came…_

_It was during a hot summer day. Mimiru was walking in the middle of the street at noon, having just finished training once again. However, not having been able to take refreshments before leaving Magitec, thirst and hunger conquered her senses, and it didn't take too long…_

…_Before she fell to the ground, unconscious._

_As Mimiru opened her eyes, she found herself on a bed, inside a neatly set room. And beside her, was…_

…_A young man in a hood. But as Mimiru looked closer…_

_She recognized the hooded figure as the same one that saved the girl in rags from the nobles._

_Mimiru then realizes that the hooded man does not seem to move. Taking common sense into consideration, she places a hand on the hooded man's shoulder, and attempts to shake him awake…_

"_Hmm…? Oh, you're up. Good morning!" The hooded man cheerfully greets as he pulls up his hood, revealing his face to Mimiru. What was hidden in the hood was actually a young boy in his teens. As she stared at him, Mimiru couldn't help but admire the bright glow coming off from the boy's golden eyes, like they were crystals…_

"_Are you hungry, little miss? I prepared something for you. Wait here." The teenage boy went to leave the room, however…_

"_Wait! Do you even know who I am? And why are you helping me?" Mimiru asks, earning a confused look from the teenager, who answers…_

"_Well, first, nope. I don't know who you are, nor do I care. Second, I can't leave an unconscious little girl in the middle of the street. Third, my mother always had told me to help people when they need it." The boy leaves, leaving a confused Mimiru inside the room…_

"_Wha…what the hell does that even mean?!" Mimiru loudly declares, as confusion hits her mind. For her, that boy's logic is…flawed. He doesn't know her, the great mage Mimiru? Preposterous! Helping strangers simply because they look like they need help? Ridiculous!_

…_But somehow, the boy's words affected Mimiru. From the way he treated her, it was like he was talking to a random little girl. That's right…_

_Out of so many people, that boy actually treated Mimiru like a little girl…But, will that stay the same once he knows who she is?_

_Mimiru decided to wait and see…_

_-A few minutes later-_

"_That soup was amazing…thank you!" Mimiru thanks the boy before her, who nods and smiles._

"_You're welcome, little miss." The boy replies as he takes away the dishes from Mimiru's hands and places it on the table beside the bed, "By the way, what's your name, little miss? I'm Levant Zanvolt."_

"_I'm…Mimiru Miltie." Mimiru hesitantly replies, waiting for a reaction from Levant._

"_Hmm, so that's your name? Nice to meet you, little Mimiru! I know this is sudden, but…" Stars were obviously sparkling from Levant's eyes as he kept on speaking, "You're…so cute! You'd make a great little sister, ufufufu!" No longer able to restrain himself, Levant proceeds to lightly pinch Mimiru's cheeks, much to her surprise…till she saw the blood trickling from Levant's nose…_

"_Wha-?! Get away from me, you lolicon! Thunder spark!"_

"_Gah! So cute! Oh wait…is that lightning? Oh, shit!"_

_*BOOM*_

_Even after that incident, Levant would still tease Mimiru and treat her like his little sister from time to time when they meet, earning the former with either a sarcastic remark or a lightning bolt. Even so, as their interactions continue, Mimiru felt something slowly reviving inside her…and eventually, it made itself know to Mimiru…_

…_The feeling of loving, and being loved._

_Since then, Mimiru would no longer wait for Levant to appear around the streets, as she would now proceed to the barracks of the Holy Cross Templars instead, and often end up straight into the arms of her 'big bro'…_

_-Flashback end-_

_Shaking off the memories, Mimiru proceeds to hurry to the barracks, no longer able to wait into jumping straight into Levant's arms once more…_

* * *

Inside the Council of Ten, Lescatie's main castle.

"From this point onwards, you are not to leave the premises of your home or interact with any living commoner when not with proper authority. Most especially, with any of the _unblessed soldiers_ of the order. Will that be understood?" Cardinal Noscrim declares to the kneeling Wilmarina, who nods.

"Yes, fathe-Cardinal Noscrim."

"Very well. Dismissed!" Cardinal Noscrim declares, allowing Wilmarina to leave the council room…

-Outside the Council Room-

"I'm sorry…Levant. I'm so sorry." Wilmarina holds back her tears as she tightly grips her sword, her heart burning with sorrow and hatred for the Council of Ten once more.

Because of what happened at the Military Library from earlier, the council of ten cardinals decided to prevent Wilmarina's 'corruption' by the 'lowly classes' by declaring an order that authority shall watch every single one of Wilmarina's actions when outside the Noscrim Manor. To Wilmarina, this obviously means one thing…

…She would be no longer able to talk to Levant, not in the open, anyways…

But, the fact that the council will execute her beloved assassin once he is found making contact with her crushed Wilmarina's hope of ever landing between Levant's arms…

"_Someday…I will be free. Levant will come and save me, I know it. I believe in him, just as he believes in me! Till then, I...must remain as the 'Hero'!_"

With that little hope in mind, Wilmarina proceeds to the training courtyard of Lescatie's castle, to find some unfortunate training dummies to take out her frustration on…

* * *

Deep in the prison dungeons of Lescatie…

"Gah!"

A guard falls unconscious as a palm filled with divine energy lands behind his head. Behind the said guard is a woman, with flowing green hair, who proceeds to check the pockets of the knocked out guard…

"Ah! Here's the keys." Sasha Folmoon declares as she takes away the keys hanging from the guard's belt, and proceeds to leave the area, and going deeper into the dungeon…

* * *

Cell # 33 , The Monster prison cells, Prison Dungeons of Lescatie…

"Okay, here's cell number…33." Sasha mutters as she takes out a key from her pocket, numbered '33'. And with it, she opens the door of the cell, revealing…

…Minorin, the minotaurus.

"Holy shit, now that's what I call a miracle! I still hate your Chief Goddess though...but I owe ya one for this!" Minorin happily declares as she exits the prison cell, with Sasha turning her back from Minorin in front of the door, and started casting a spell…

"What are ya doin'?" The minotaurus asks Sasha, who quickly replies…

"I'll be teleporting you straight into a camp of monsters up in the tip of the northern forest borders. You'll be safe once I finish this teleportation spell, so please, for the meantime, wait warmly till it's ready."Sasha declares, earning her a nod from the minotaurus.

"I know I shouldn't be askin' this, but, why're ya helpin' us monsters?" Minorin asks, earning her a gentle smile and an answer from Sasha…

"…Humans and monsters are not so different. We both have bodies and souls, even feelings. The only thing that separates us are our physical appearance, and the way we need to live…But with understanding and love, I'm sure…that we can co-exist. Someday." Sasha says as the teleportation spell she's doing is about half finished…

* * *

Deep down Lescatie's sewers, in the hidden catacombs…

"Hmm…So his name is Levant Zanvolt. Such a strong name, if you ask me. His first name reminds me of the name the region father once belonged to in the middle east." Deruella comments as she hands over a parcel over to the woman in front of her, "Take this with you on the journey to the dwarf haven in Zipangu. Give it to the elder in place of the letter that the humans made."

"I will, mistress. But how about the assassin? You see, the last time I got sent into reconnoiter into a squad with an assassin, I almost got found out. They are quite the pain to deal with, in fact. And worse, some other monster managed to ravage him when I finally managed to be alone with him!" Saphirette says as she takes the parcel Deruella handed over.

"Oho? Just be cautious then. You managed to finish last time's reconnoiter with similar conditions, yes? I'm sure you can also do it this time. And other than that, the assassin you mentioned doesn't even seem to be as brutal, as he is still just a green horn when it comes to the matters of his job. I saw it for myself when he and the magical girl fought Minorin."

"What are you implying, mistress?"

"That our assassin is still inexperienced. Tell me, would a seasoned assassin spare those three robbers who attacked you this morning?" Deruella asks Saphirette, who nods in understanding.

"But enough of the assassin. What intrigues me right now are the main targets for the invasion's starting phase. So far, the ones we are aiming most are called Wilmarina Noscrim, and a little magical girl named Mimiru Miltie, am I not right?" Deruella asks, earning a nod from Saphirette. Deruella then proceeds to continue, "…Now that I think about it, You did say in your report that the rookie hero is quite close to a certain assassin, down right to the point of physical contact, albeit being forbidden from such act, is that correct?" Deruella states as Saphirette gave her a curious look.

"What are you plotting, mistress?" Saphirette asks, earning her a mischievous smile from the lilim in front of her.

"Say, Saphirette, do you know how kids feel during the few days before Christmas?" Deruella smiles as she kept speaking, "Because I'm sure that our lovely Wilmarina is in such a state…So why don't we become the Santa Claus on Christmas day? You know, give her the present she wants the most…" Deruella's smile only became wider…

"…An Assassin in a box. Alive, of course!"

"…But I thought the invasion plan for Lescatie is still in planning process, my dear mistress…" Saphirette chimes in.

"Of course, it is, dear scholar! I was only putting another kid's name on my special list!" Deruella answers, with the same unfading smile…

* * *

_Chapter 1 end_

* * *

**_We only realize the value of happiness once we part with it, and when we find out how rare it is to find another one._**

* * *

**And done!**

**Oh, and a reminder for my readers:**

**Updates for this story and the others I've written will be slower, as I am under the suffering of summer classes in college. (Why the **_**cazzo**_** are they required, anyway?! Summer is only supposed to be for those wanting to be **_**advanced**_**, not those who **_**wants**__**summer break**_**! **_**Figlio du'cane!**_**)**

**Please don't forget to leave an honest review! I'm open to constructive criticisms, as usual!**

_**Arrivederci**_**, dear readers!**


	3. The first mission! Towards the east!

_**Author's Notes: Hello there, dear readers! Been a while, eh? Summer Classes are quite the yandere when it comes to my schedule, it seems. And as such, I barely have any free time for planning, much less writing. Oh well. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.**_

_**Well, enough of that! Let's start!**_

* * *

_This is the tale of a man who has not yet realized the ephemerality of happiness…_

* * *

The barracks of the Holy Cross Templars is bustling with activity, particularly the Templars on lunch break preparing and eating their food on areas around inside the barracks. With the barracks itself being as large as a castle's main hall, there was a lot of spaces for everyone.

"It's only for a short while, right? I guess Magitec can allow that! Real battle experience is more effective than just practice after all! Geographical exploration too!" Mimiru declares as she takes a dish full of food from Levant, who is also holding his own set of food. A smile on his face made itself known, thanks to Mimiru's acceptance to his invitation.

"That's good to hear. Thanks for the help!" Levant happily says as he sits on a table at the corner of the barracks along with Mimiru, "Let's eat!"

* * *

"Hmm! Great, as usual!" Mimiru declares between munches as she devours another pack of lunch made by Levant, who just smiles as Mimiru kept on erasing the food out of existence with her mouth.

Not the type to sit idly, Levant himself eats at a slower, yet more stable pace than Mimiru. While enjoying the food he made, Levant decides to take a look around as a way entertaining himself…

Many of the Templars appears to be eating food bought from the headquarter's canteen. Being one who is experienced in cooking himself, Levant could tell that the food made by the chefs of the headquarters were well made and is not to be underestimated when it comes to quality, albeit a little expensive.

Levant's skills were not something to sneeze at either, and for that very reason, the kitchen of the headquarters once tried to recruit him. However…

He turned them down, as Levant was not interested in just cooking for those who fight. He never was tempted by the high wage offered, for what he wanted to seize was not fortune, but…

…Power.

"Oi, Levant!" A young man's voice interrupts Levant's train of thoughts, causing him to look for the source of the said voice, which was behind him. Levant is then greeted by the sight of a man wearing the same exact hooded robes as he does, albeit white in color, and the hood's pulled up, revealing the man's face…Which was a fair-skinned, red eyed man with short silky purple hair.

"Ah, if it ain't Ramir! Good to see that you actually take breaks. And here I thought you were married to your job! I though you even had children with it already!" Levant greets his soul brother and long-time combat partner, Ramir Al-Sayf.

"Of course, I do know when it's time to take breaks. And you don't make children with your job! You make them with your wife! Who the hell do you take me for?!" Ramir says in a mock offended tone while dramatically pointing to himself. Levant just laughs off his friend's antics while Mimiru just ignored Ramir.

Levant, knowing how Ramir would proclaim in open air how he loves big chests when given the chance, makes it not uncommon for Mimiru to dislike the latter.

"The man with the incurable virginity?" Levant replies to Ramir's earlier statement, causing the latter to reply, "Looks who's talking!"

However, Levant quickly counter's Ramir's response, "I'm 17 and underage, unlike you, who's already 22 and still single!" Levant's words caused Ramir to suddenly drop on his knees, while muttering '_Someday…you will feel how it feels too…_'

"So, what's up brother? Don't tell me you went to break just to greet me here." Levant says in an interrogating tone, eliciting a nod from Ramir, who stands up and crosses his arms as he answers.

"Well, Sasha told me to tell you to pick her up this afternoon at the entrance of the Goddess' cathedral. She also said something about cooking dinner with you tonight or something like that." Ramir declares, causing Mimiru to raise an eyebrow at the mention of 'Sasha' and 'cooking dinner tonight'.

To her, it seems that '_quadruple giga tits_' managed to score another free hit on her big bro…again. And as if on cue, a far-fetched vision makes itself appear inside Mimiru's imagination…

* * *

_-What Mimiru is seeing-_

_This is a story of a man who got seduced by destiny…or rather, by a big chested heroine of the Goddess' Order…_

"_I'm home! So what are we gonna cook for dinne-WHOA!" Levant suddenly screams at the sight that greeted him as he entered the kitchen of the orphanage…_

_Inside the kitchen was…Sasha, cooking something in a large pot, while wearing an apron. _

…_As in, only an apron._

"_Ah! Levant! I didn't know you were arriving early…I…" Sasha says as her face went beet red, as the apron barely covered her…unmentionables. Levant himself was also red in the face, with glee as he got a full view of Sasha's…behinds. His golden eyes looked like they were about to jump off their sockets._

"_W-well…I should proceed to boiling this-kyaahn!" As she was about to return to cooking, Sasha gets assaulted by Levant from behind, where he grabs her hips, and forcibly places Sasha flat on her back on the kitchen table…_

"_I'm sorry Sasha. I can't hold myself anymore!" Levant emotionally declares as he rips off the apron from Sasha's body…and also strips himself right after in a split second._

"_L-Levant…Take responsibility, will you…?" Sasha meekly requests, her face now crimson red, and her heartbeat as fast as the footsteps of a running rabbit._

"_I will!"_

_After that exchange, Levant steeled himself, his fighting spirit burning wildly within his manly soul as he prepares to __**pierce**__ the __**heavens **__with his__** drill**__!_

"_Giga…Pelvic…BRRRRREEEEAAAAKEEEERRRR!"_

"_Levant! N-not so rough!"_

_And so, as the kitchen table shook, Mimiru could only watch in tears and horror from outside the kitchen's window…_

* * *

_-Back to the real world-_

Mimiru's face was red in anger as she grabs her staff, and grips it tightly, in the same fashion of how a lamia would coil around her husband…till he dies, for cheating.

"Ah, I'm sorry, but tell her I can't pick her up. I was ordered to retrieve Primera this afternoon for a mission, you see…However, tell Sasha that I'll still join her in cooking dinner tonight." Levant replies in confirmation to Ramir's relayed message, causing Mimiru to hide her face from Levant's point of view to pout. If it wasn't for the fact that her stomach was full right now, she'd be stomping her way out of the barracks.

"Hmm…Got it. I'll do that after lunch, I guess. But don't worry! You can count on me, who counts on you!" Ramir energetically says as he puts on the hood of his robes, "Time to meet and grope Ms. Cleavage Godde-err, the chef, is what I want to say…aha…Ahahaha…"As Ramir managed to finish his words, a bolt of lightning lands beside him on the right, surprising him. Another bolt then lands accurately on the space between his feet, which he barely dodged.

Knowing that a certain pink haired magician is responsible, Ramir quickly starts running away on a direction opposite from Levant and an enraged Mimiru.

"Safety and peace_, _brother! May the Goddess bless us with her love and care! Whoa, shit!" Ramir shouted from a distance as he kept on running away from the continuous bolts of lightning that chased him…

Levant sighed as he watched the scenario, and decides to leave, but not before taking Mimiru along. He then decides to stop her tantrum and get to start recruiting his other orphanage sibling and friend, Primera Concerto.

Levant was about to tell Mimiru to snap out of her tantrum through pinching her face gently like he usually does, but as he was about to do so, Mimiru also casts another small lightning bolt, this time aimed at Levant, hitting him straight to the right leg…

"_A-ahn_!" Levant…_moans in pleasure _as he felt the lightning struck, earning him a red face from Mimiru…as she forgot that Levant has gotten so used to her lightning spells, he thinks of them like a form of massage…

Levant popped a ecstatic grin on his face before speaking, "Please…_Punish me more_, little sister!" Levant unintentionally made his voice boom out of…unnatural eagerness, earning the attention of the surrounding Templars in the barracks…

_~BGM: "Access the Animus –Escape Version-" from Assassin's Creed~_

"…Oh…" Levant says as a feeling of misfortune slowly makes its way onto his spine…prompting him to ready himself for a chase…

…A chase for his life.

Within a few seconds spears, arrows, swords, shields, eroticas featuring lolis, and lightning bolts flew wildly in the vicinity of the barracks, with the words '_Damn you, lolicon Assassin!_' and '_Catch the Pedossassin_!' flying through the air at the same time.

"Whoa!" Levant shouted as he dives and rolls to his right to dodge a flying axe, and he then quickly ducks as a horizontally spinning sword is sent his way. Levant then quickly runs forward, only to find a spearman heading towards him.

"For those who love mature and big breasted women! Die, lolicon!" The spearman roared.

"Calm your tits, dude! I'm not even a lolico-whoa!" Levant gets forced to dodge with a side step to the left as the spearman thrusts his spear forward. Not one to miss openings, Levant quickly lunges forward and lands a powerful knee to the spearman's open stomach, knocking the spearman out with pain. With one obstacle down, Levant runs forward!

"_To the exit! I can live on as soon as I'm out!_" Putting all of his fighting spirit into his running, Levant heads for the barrack's exit…

"Watch out, brother!" A voice rings behind Levant, causing him to look back, only to find a spear flying towards him…

*CLANG!*

The sound of metal hitting metal was heard, and Levant found the spear deflected by a Knight Templar in front of him using a large metallic shield. The said Templar then looks at Levant with a look that expresses affection to one's own kind…

"Go in peace and safety, _fellow lolicon_! We shall fight this war for you! Return to your little sisters! Our comrades are waiting for you outside and shall protect you until you can hide! GO!" The Knight Templar roared, earning him a confused look from Levant…

"I don't even know what the hell are you talking about, but thanks for the help!" With that, Levant runs away from the barracks. Outside, more enemies waited, but so are allies. The lolicon Templars then shielded Levant from attacks and deathblows as he proceeded throughout the city.

…For the first time, Levant was actually discovered that he actually has some comrades in the Holy Cross Templars…for the wrong reasons.

_~BGM Fades~_

* * *

_Meanwhile, a deal was being sealed at inside the room of Wilmarina Noscrim, inside the Noscrim Manor…_

"Oh, a temporary enlistment in your squad, General Mersé? Very well, I shall enlist, since it is only for a short time." Wilmarina says in a stern voice as she bows before Mersé, who smirks out of her successful convincing of Wilmarina. Even though it was just an escort mission, they were going to escort an important person, namely, an envoy to the dwarves, Lescatie's primary source of quality steel weapons. Of course, the Ace Rookie knight of Lescatie would be a fool to refuse such an important mission.

"_Heh, looks like I hit jackpot today!_" Mersé declared to herself mentally as she takes out a paper filled with instructions from the chest area of her armor, and hands it to Wilmarina, who raised an eyebrow, particularly at what she saw just now…

"Well then, now that we're done, I woudn't wanna disturb ya anymore. As for the rest, it's in that instruction sheet. See ya later, _rookie_!" Mersé says as she bows before leaving Wilmarina's room.

"Hmph, _rookie_, she says…" Wasting no time, Wilmarina quickly decides to read the sheet that Mersé gave her. From it, she learns the meeting place, time, the mission details, and the list of the original members of the Snake's Lance squad…

"*_Gasp_*…It…It can't be!" Wilmarina mutters as she spots the last name on the roster of Mersé's squad…

"It's like a miracle…To think that we'd be together in a mission! Oh, wait…" As she was about to think of plans for a certain event, Wilamrina remembered that she was not alone on this mission. Mersé is around, and other than that, she also might have recruited many more others as well. Which means that…

"_Curses_…I must restrain myself…While '_they_' are around anyways. But at the same time…" Clenching her fists, filled with anxiety and excitement at the same time, Wilmarina steels her resolve, preparing herself for a mission for the sake of the city once again…even if it was never worth it back then.

…But with her 'dear' able to watch her in action this time, it is worth the blood…no…

Is worth her _life._

* * *

_~BGM: "Alice 3" from Monster Girl Quest~_

"_Will there be ever be peace…? I think there would be…with tolerance, understanding, and love…but the high priests will never understand that._"

Sasha Folmoon mentally noted as she kneeled in meditation on one of the punes of the Goddess' cathedral. But, even with such a faithful looking figure, her heart seems occupied with something else, even as she tried to 'pray'…

…It was her doubts, and suspicions. Not only of the teachings of the order, but of her way of life, as of late, as well.

Ever since she questioned the Chief Goddess of the truth behind the slaughter of monsters, the voice of the said Goddess no longer echoed in her mind, which fueled one of Sasha's suspicions: That there is indeed something amiss in the teachings of the order that she has obeyed all her life…

The rule of love for fellow humans…and the rule of merciless slaughter against monsters. The disturbing smile of the Templars as they attacked and captured the poor monsters, and the tears that come off the ones that were caught, as they already were expecting execution without even being given a second chance.

These rules are indeed one sided. Why murder those of the different kind? Must the monsters die simply because they are not humans? Even if they, too, have souls, feelings, and families, just like humans? Even if they were never hostile in the first place? Even if they were only looking for love?

These questions led to the abandonment of the Goddess's guidance, as what Sasha believed.

"_Love…_" Mentally noting the word in her mind, Sasha's heart clenched at the thing she can never have, yet she helped others gain it happily…

…_Her own_ happily ever after.

"_No, I can't think like this! I…am a hero, before I am a woman…My duty…comes first. I never can…I can't be selfish…I…must put a smile on everyone's faces before my own…_" By sheer force of will, Sasha cuts off her meditation, and proceeds to exit the church and wait at the entrance for Ramir, who bears news of Levant's answer to her invitation…

"…I just hope he accepted my invitation...But even if he doesn't, I guess that's alright…" Sasha muttered to herself as she restrains the thoughts of excitement wanting to jump off her chest…But as she stood at the front of the gigantic doors of the church, a certain silver-haired war general makes her appearance…

"Hey there, Sasha!"

"Oh, Mersé. How can I help you today?"

_~BGM Fades~_

* * *

"Tch…How boring. But that's the forest for you. The bees and the birds are your best friends…Oh, wait, that came out wrong…"

A young woman, sitting on a high branch of a large tree, watches the entirety of the northern forests of Lescatie out of boredom. Despite the said boredom, however, she eventually enjoys the view of the whole place from a high branch of any trees she can find, as it doesn't seem to get old, no matter how many times she does it.

The said young woman has purple eyes, a skin with a fair complexion, and bright green hair tied in a twin tail style, with the side burns of her hair locked unto their place with a pair of small orange colored hairclips. The left bangs of her hair are also locked by another pair of hairclips into place, while her right bangs are not locked. She also has slightly pointed ears, resembling that of an elf's, but much shorter in comparison, making the said woman as a half elf.

The young half elf woman appears to wear a piece of clothing known as a tube, green in color. The said clothing is designed and covered with gigantic leaves, ranging in sizes, concealing it, and making the leaves look like the clothing itself, especially the dark green ones place sideways, covering her chests, and the large purple ones, placed horizontally downwards, serving as the skirt. She also wears a spaulder on her left shoulder, made of leaves. On her left arm is a gauntlet made of leaves as well. On her right leg is a green colored stocking reaching her legs, with a leaf motif, while her left leg has dark green colored leaves placed left and right. She also wears a pair of shoes that appears to be made of leafy materials as well.

This young half elf is known by the name of Primera Concerto, a member of the Templar's heroes of archers, and also a resident of the Goddess' Loving Embrace orphanage. Although, unlike most of the usual members, she's pretty distant, and cold, a result of the discrimination she might often receive from both humans and elves that she encountered throughout her life. Well, except for one special person…

Looking at the view of the forest from above once again, Primera sighs as her boredom strikes once more. It didn't take too long before she eventually decides to go down, and planned out to do some hunting…and bring the reward back to the orphanage later, as today is her day off. A good dinner from a good hunt would be great tonight…

"_Maybe…I should go for one of those golden turkeys around here. They might be a little annoying to catch, but their taste makes it worth it. Especially if Sasha or Levant gets to cook it…" _Primera mentally noted as she jumps down from branch to branch, and eventually, she reaches the ground.

"I should try to go to the Crystal Lake. They are known to creep around there. Maybe I should take to the trees to avoid alerting them through the ground…" Primera noted as she tries to remember more of the characteristics of the golden turkey that she can remember, "They're ridiculously good at sensing vibrations on the ground, that even a cat's footsteps can alert them. But they have bad hearing, and their thick golden feathers give them a bad perception of the vibrations in the air, making my arrows a perfect weapon for the job…"

While planning out a few more tactics, Primera then looks for a climbable tree, and after a few searches, she spots a fairly low one with a branch at the top the leads to even more taller trees, and it even goes towards the direction of the lake side, to boot, which is at the western side of the northern forest borders…

Primera smirked as she climbs the tree, before going at its top and started leaping off from one tree branch to another. It didn't take too long before she reached her destination…

* * *

Stealthily moving from tree to tree, Primera carefully observes the sight of the lands of the Crystal Lake from the very trees she's jumping around from. After a few minutes, Primera found herself on a tree higher than the ones she jumped on earlier, and even closer to the lakeside to boot.

_~An hour later~_

"Hmm…Just as I thought," Primera says to herself as an hour has already passed she sat in wait on a branch of the high tree, "That golden feathered jerk isn't gonna pop up like a star in the sky…But this usually happens, which is why it's annoying. Why can't they show up when you want 'em to? Geez…But at least, I do know that they will pop up before sunset is gone…"

Having no choice in the matter, Primera decides to wait a lot longer on the tree branch, knowing that the golden turkey is bound to come out before the sun sinks out of the sky. Even as she lay in wait, she had her bow and arrow set and ready…

* * *

_On the northern forest borders of Lescatie, an Assassin who just escaped certain misfortune dashes through the trees, with adrenaline pumping throughout his veins…_

"Hah…hah…" Levant panted as he dashed and jumped from one tree to another in fast speed, "Good thing…I…run fast…"

After becoming the temporary enemy of all busty women of Lescatie, Levant became a notorious 'criminal' to the eyes of the big chests-loving faction of Templars, prompting them to bring 'salvation' to Levant by capturing him and attempting to convert him into an big chests-lover through the infamous 'mature women's loving therapy'. Because of this, the lolicon faction of the Templars intervened and saved Levant, believing that they 'cannot lose a single brother to the suffocating evil of big chests', and that Levant must remain as a faithful 'big bro' to his 'little sisters', much to Levant's chagrin and confusion. He was still thankful for the help, though.

Meanwhile, Mimiru still sits in a corner of the barracks, blushing madly the whole time, and is currently drowned in a daydream, while Levant made his way out of the city and into the forests as the Templars chased him…

* * *

"…Looks like I can rest now. There doesn't seem to be anyone chasing me any more…phew! Thank the Goddess!" Levant happily declares unto himself as he went full stop at a large branch of a tree, before sitting down on it and rested up. As he rested his back on the trunk of the tree, Levant decides to give his current location a thorough look.

Thanks to the tall height of the tree he's on, Levant quickly got a good analysis of his current environment, which is the northern forest borders of Lescatie, the patrol route of his current objective: Primera.

"_My adrenaline must have been pumping like crazy if I didn't even realize where I was going…But at least, I made it in the right place…_" Levant expressed his surprise at how he ended up in the place he is in right now. The chase between him and the big-chests lovers must have been so intense, that his adrenaline came out on instinct.

"I…I'm tired…" Levant felt his energy slowly slip away as he kept on resting. "_That adrenaline run from earlier really took out a lot from me…I can't even move my legs properly now that I've rested…good thing that I rested on top of a tall tree…I'll be away from common ground monster assaults, at least._" Levant mentally noted as he feels his eyelids get heavy. He attempted to fight it back, but, the more he fought back, the more his mind lost strength. Eventually, his consciousness forcefully slipped away from his mind's grasp…

And thus, the warm embrace of slumber smothered the young Assassin…

* * *

_~BGM: "Gentle Hands" from .Hack G.U.~_

_On the southern gates of Lescatie…_

_Multiple cages, carrying the victims of the infamous 'black plague', are being delayed, as many of the residents wanted to say their last goodbyes to their unfortunate loved ones who were infected with the disease. As they was still no cure at the time, anyone with a symptom of infection are sent in those carriages, which would then be driven by horses to the far southern volcanoes, where the victims are 'laid to rest'…_

"_Mama…please, don't leave me! Don't go! Don't leave me alone!" A young boy, 11 years of age, cries in despair as he attempts to reach his mother from the gap of the small window of the cage, only to be stopped by a pair of strong, but gentle hands from behind him…The said boy had short, spiky silver hair and dim, golden eyes, with tears streaming from it._

"_I'm sorry, Levant…But mama needs to do this…So please, don't cry…" A beautiful woman, with a face greatly resembling the boy's own, has long flowing silver hair, golden eyes, ivory skin, and a slender figure, gently calms the boy from inside the cage. Her sorrowful, yet gentle and loving voice somewhat stopping the young boy, Levant, from moving. _

_The said woman goes by the name of Micaela Zanvolt, a servant of the Noscrim family, and also the mother of Levant Zanvolt._

"_Mama must go somewhere far…So that…" Micaela speaks in a weakened voice as her right hand crosses through the gap of the cage's window, "…My sweet little boy won't be infected with the plague…" Her right hand makes it out of the cage's window, and pats Levant on the head, as he is standing directly from outside the carriage, beside the window._

"_But I don't care about the plague, mama!" Levant cries out once again as he grabs ahold of his mother's hand, gripping it tightly like it was the last time, which is sadly, true. "I…want to stay with you mama! I don't care, even if I have to take care of you every day, then I will! Please, don't go!"_

"…_Levant…" Micaela, barely holding her tears, begins to speak, "You have a future. A future you can carve, without me. If I stayed with you, then…that future will be ruined. I…want you to live your life the way you want it, without any burdens…I want you to live happy…To fulfill your dreams…"_

"_Why…?" Levant's tears doesn't stop as he speaks, "Why do you want to leave me so much, mama? Do you…hate me?"_

"…_Of course not, sweetie." Micaela replies, her voice becoming weaker and weaker by each word, yet the gentleness and the warm love that flows from it stays the same, "I wanted to live with you. I wanted to hug you every night when you go to sleep. I wanted to watch you grow up. I wanted to guide you through life itself but…" Tears are now also flowing from Micaela's eyes as her life has started to slowly seep out of her body, "It seems…that…the Goddess…has other plans…for me. And…for you…too. That's why…" Micaela's right hand, which stayed outside the cage and no longer held tightly by Levant, goes to point at the latter's chest, "Always remember…and never forget…that mama…will always be…in here…" After saying those words, Micaela's hand then slowly rises from Levant's chest and slowly approaches his face, "And… no matter…what…happens…" With the last of her strength, Micaela manages to caress Levant's left cheek for the final time, "I love you…" _

_With those last words, Micaela forcefully pulls her hand back inside the cage as life goes out completely from her body. But even then, a smile made itself known on her lips as she closed her eyes…it's as if she finally accomplished what it was she needed to do…_

"…_Mama?" Levant weakly asks, only to receive no reply as the driver of the cage's horse has cracked his whips, signaling the horse to start moving, and move it did. _

"_Wait! Stop! Mama's in there! Stop! __**STOP!**__" Levant screamed as he tried to chase the cage, only to be stopped on the arms by a woman with long, green hair and pink eyes, and wears the clothing of a high priestess of the Chief Goddess…_

_This woman's name is Lenneth Folmoon, a close friend of Micaela's, and is currently, Levant's adoptive mother. She is also a former hero of Lescatie, who has just retired recently due to family life._

"…_Please, let me go!" Levant cries out as he struggled hard against Lenneth's arms in vain._

"…_Don't worry. It's gonna be okay…I'm here with you." Lenneth says in an attempt to calm Levant down. However, it seems that the pain of losing one's mother is way too strong, and that the normal method of comfort won't help much in this situation…_

"_I'm sorry Levant, but, I'll have to do this…" Lenneth declares as she chants a few words. As she finished chanting, her hands glowed with bright blue light…_

"_Please sleep…for now." Without warning, Lenneth gently strikes the back of Levant, knocking the air out of him…_

_Even in the last shreds of his consciousness, Levant manages to utter a few words…_

"_Ma…ma…Come…back…"_

_However, before his eyes could fully close, Levant caught the sight of a man in priestly garbs, laughing victoriously from afar…_

_~BGM Fades~_

* * *

"Gah!" Levant screams awake, with tears flowing off his eyes.

"…A nightmare, huh? Damn…I really hate that dream…" Wiping the tears off his eyes, Levant then stands up on the tree branch, and started to stretch himself. "_Why…did I dream about it, of all the other things? Must be the goddess of dreams wanting to mess with me…_" Deciding to shake himself off of the thoughts about the said dream, the assassin proceeds to climb the top branch of the tree he's in…

Looking around his location once again, Levant discovers that the sun has already set, and there's barely any lights around him, save the one illuminated by the orange sky.

"Well…damn it. I'll just go home then. I guess I'll just help with the dinner and nap it off. I don't think I'd want to search for Primera this late…"

Levant sighed as he realized that he has failed his objective, and decides to retreat back into the orphanage for the day. As he jumped down from the top branch and into the lower ones, Levant started to free-run from tree to tree once again, as he starts thinking of whatever excuse he can feed Mersé tomorrow, concerning the failure of recruiting Primera…or else, it's a halberd to the ass. With 50 push-ups.

* * *

Pulling his hood up, Levant enters the doors of his home, the orphanage…

"Welcome home, big bro!" Elisha and Silmeria greets Levant, as soon as he enters the orphanage. Levant proceeds to pat their heads gently while declaring, "I'm home!"

"Primera brought home a big golden turkey today! And she said that you and big sis will cook it too!" Elisha loudly announces, earning her a cheer from the other kids inside the orphanage, while Silmeria tugs on Levant's sleeve, and then points to Primera, who's currently sitting in a chair by the fireplace, and is reading a book. Levant decides to approach her…

"Welcome home, Primera." Levant says as he gets behind Primera, who closes her book, stands up, and faces Levant.

"I already caught the over-sized chicken, so stop bothering me and start cooking already!" Primera rudely replies to Levant, who just sighs at her greeting.

"Oh, I love you too, Primera!" Levant dramatically adds, sounding like a badly paid actor on a low-budget stage drama. Primera's face went crimson at his words, and she would have remained so had Levant not added another sentence, "I'm surprised you didn't threaten another passerby to fetch me at the barracks or something." Levant expresses his surprise at his friend, who frowns out of annoyance. Indeed, it was rare for Primera to go home without having to be fetched by Levant or Sasha.

"Of course, I can go home on my own, idiot! B-but don't think I actually went home for you or something like that! I'd rather sleep at the tree-tops like usual than sleep in the same roof with a human like you!" Primera tells Levant, with forced irritation obvious in her voice. However, instead of a usual comeback, Levant slowly points behind Primera, with a look of fear on his face…

"Huh? What the hell are you-Oh…How long were you there, Sasha?!" Primera gasps in surprise as she learns what Levant was getting at: Sasha was behind her, and listening the whole time, too…

"Ever since that rude greeting to Levant. Well then, young woman, mind telling me why you'd rather have sleep-overs at the tree tops than coming home and sleep on a proper bed?" Sasha smiled forcefully as she asked…and unlike the usual Sasha, the current one that Primera faces is so…intimidating. The very sight of Sasha's current face and the suffocating air around her can even send dragons flying off their caves and echidnas running back to the depths of their dungeons…

It seems that Sasha's 'maternal instincts' kicked in once again, and in a bad timing for Primera too.

"Uhh…" Primera then begins to look around for Levant for back up, only to find him running for his life back to his room…while looking at Primera with a face that says '_I'll never forget your sacrifice_'.

"Well, young woman? If you're not going to speak, then I will…" Sasha declares in a scolding tone, sending a chill to Primera's spine, as she is about to get the full treatment of 'Scary Mama Sasha's sermons' tonight…right before dinner.

"…Damn it, Levant!"

* * *

_And so, after Primera received her share of sermons, Levant gets called down from his room, in order to help Sasha in preparing tonight's dinner…_

_It didn't take too long, and the turkey is now being cooked in a large oven, heated greatly by a fire glyph installed beneath. Unlike normal ovens, the ovens with glyphs can be modified to cook slower or faster, without damaging the food being cooked. The source of energy for these magical ovens are magic crystals infused and fortified with fire magic. _

_Although, in the end, it's still the cook's skill that matters…_

"Umm, Sasha?" Levant calls out to Sasha, who's currently readying the plates as Levant prepares the spoon and the forks.

"Hm? What is it, Levant?" Sasha replied as she started placing the plates on the table.

"I'm going on my first mission tomorrow. With six people under General Mersé. It's an escort mission for an envoy to the dwarf village. " Levant explained before adding, "The orphanage has to be watched while I'm out…since you might be busy again."

"Oh? You're on the same mission too?" Sasha suddenly declares, earning a pair of widened eyes from Levant. Sasha quickly adds, "I was recruited into temporary enlistment by General Mersé this afternoon, you see. She said she needed a priestess for an envoy's escort mission, so I had to comply. Oh, and I also had Primera enlisted for the archer position when she arrived here earlier."

"Oh…I…see. But who'll watch over the orphanage?" Levant asks. Due to their incoming schedules, there is no one available.

"I had Ramir to watch over tomorrow. 'I promise I'll be home even before the kids wake up' is what he said, so I guess we won't have to worry about the caretaker." Sasha explained, earning a sigh of relief from Levant. Ramir had never backed down on his word, no matter how ridiculous it would seem sometimes.

And with that, Levant and Sasha wordlessly proceeded to continue preparing for dinner…

_After that, Levant, Sasha, Primera, and the kids had a large dinner. The size of the golden turkey that Primera caught was about half the size of an average bear, which is enough to feed the orphanage for the next day…_

* * *

"Good night, big bro!" Elisha energetically says as Levant pulls a blanket over her and Silmeria, who slept beside her.

"Good night…Sleep tight…big bro…" Silmeria greets shyly, although her voice is louder than how it would sound when talking to someone else other than her big brother.

"Good night, Elisha. Good night, Silmeria." Levant says as he gently kissed the foreheads of his two little sisters, before leaving them to sleep. After exiting the room of the kids, Levant encounters Primera on his way to the stairs, who is already in her pajamas and has a somewhat pouting look on her face.

"What? You want a _good night_ _kiss_ to the forehead too?" Levant asks in a playful tone as a smirk plants itself on his face…

Primera's face lit up in red, "Wh-what?! What the hell are you saying, you idiotic human?!" Primera says out aloud before kicking Levant to the shins, making him kneel on the floor in pain as Primera kept speaking, "It-it's not like I'm jealous of your little sisters or anything…" With a red face, Primera hastily left to her room after muttering those words, leaving a Levant who is currently dragging himself to the stairs to his room…

"If she's going to be _tsundere_, she doesn't have to be so violent about it…Ooh, my shins…"

* * *

Deruella enjoys the sight of the moon as she sat on a branch of a large tree somewhere in the northern mountains of Lescatie, on the location known as the northern monster camps…

"Young Mistress, Minorin the minotaurus has safely returned." A dark elf declares as she appears right under the branch of the tree that Deruella sits on…

"Oho? I see…looks like Duran was right after all. About the insider, that is…" Deruella stated as she didn't remove her stare at the moon.

Deruella then decides to give an order to the dark elf below her, "Tell her to come here and report on the events during her attack on Lescatie's borders. Now." In a split second, the dark elf disappears, leaving Deruella alone…

"Ah, the moon is so beautiful tonight…" Deruella declares to herself, "…It would be more beautiful if I were sitting on the lap of my husband…" Deruella dreamily states, before continuing in a sour tone, "…If I had one!"

Despite her enchanting beauty and unmatched charisma, there was no man in the world who would face Deruella and ask her out bravely in the same fashion as how normal human men would ask women on a date. She may not look like it, but Deruella is quite the romantic herself, believing in the saying 'Date first before marriage and love-making'. However, so far, any man she approaches alone would end up falling unconscious out of love at first sight or get extremely horny after just a glance at her, making her lose hope of a normal start of a 'normal' relationship.

However, Deruella did not give up, and while she still couldn't get a man to approach her normally, she decided to learn more about how humans would express their love instead, for the meantime anyway. This is evident as she kept a lot of romance novels in her room. Ironically enough, this books were written by humans, about humans, and Deruella only got ahold of these books by disguising herself as a human while entering a bookstore in a human city and buying the said books from there.

Looking at her current single life, Deruella sighs as she returned her attention to the moon, wishing that she, too, would someday get her 'first love' and proper 'first date'.

"I have arrived, young mistress." A rough voice of a woman interrupts Deruella's sight-seeing, causing her to turn back to the source of the voice…

It was Minorin, the Minotaurus.

"Welcome back, Minorin." Deruella greets the minotaurus before continuing, "…I would like to hear what transpired during the test assault on Lescatie's southern forest borders, from your own mouth."

Minorin bows before answering, "Yes, my mistress…"

* * *

"Hmm…I wonder what's inside? I forgot to check the other day, so…" Levant loudly asks as he examines the rolled up bag of cloth that the old man from the previous day rewarded him with for defeating the minotaurus. Not withholding his curiousity, Levant unrolls the bag of cloth, and finds…

"…It…It can't be!" Levant declares in shock as he lifts the contents of the cloth, "A pair of hidden blades, and vambraces! Made with stainless silver, at that! Where did the old man get this?!...Nah, whatever! I'm trying this on anyway…" Feeling excitement tickling his instincts, Levant proceeds to test the weapons…

Levant then proceeds to remove his old pair of vambraces along with his old hidden blades. He then begins to equip the new pair of vambraces.

The vambraces had a coating of stainless silver on the outer side of the forearms, with an insignia that seemed familiar to Levant…

The said insignia appears to be a stylized A, with a pair of demonic wings at the sides.

"_Hmm…I don't mind the design, but...It really looks like another version of the Brotherhood's insignia, although a little bit on the…creepy department. But who cares? Each hidden blade has their own variation of the Assassin insignia anyway, so this isn't really much of a problem._" Levant mentally commented as he removes his attention from the insignia, and focuses on the hidden blades beneath the vambraces instead, "Now then, to test the hidden blades…" After saying that, Levant then brings his hands forward, with the forearms raised up. Levant then flicks both of his wrists, causing the silver hidden blades to pop out in a parallel direction from beneath his forearms.

"Woah, the gears inside seems new too! The blade is really…shiny as well." After looking at the shiny blades for a few minutes, Levant then retracts the hidden blades a flick of his wrists, before removing the weapons from his forearms. "_That old man must have been a former assassin or maybe someone connected to the brotherhood. To be carrying something like these…It smells fishy…but that old man didn't emit any funny air while he was around, and I have no evidences…So trying to speculate things right now would be pointless…"_ Levant mentally noted as he removes his robes, and puts on his sleeping wear before going to sleep…

_And unknown to him, Levant's new weapon glowed with a dark colored energy, resembling black and purple flames. The said flames then dissipated after a few seconds…_

* * *

_On the rooftop of Sutherland Inn of Lescatie, a young scholar awaits for someone…_

"I am here, scholar."

A young man declares as he landed from above, wearing an assassin's robes similar to Levant's, albeit white in color. In front of him was the scholar, Saphirette Spherica, who's currently carrying a book about the history of Lescatie…

"Ah, welcome." Saphirette arranges her glasses as she continues to speak, "How was the mission?"

"I've successfully lured the assault unit of Knights Templars and the hired mercenaries into the depths of the rain forests to the east of the capital city of Venezia. It will only be a matter of time before they will stumble upon the villages of amazons or the swamp villages of the ogres."

"I see. A job well done as usual, Ramir." Saphirette declared as she gives off a smile, "As agreed, we'll keep our hands of your younger siblings during the invasion, and provide you with a new home somewhere. Oh, and speaking of siblings…could you please remove your hood first?" Saphirette commands Ramir, who complies and pulls up his hood, allowing Saphirette to look him in the eye before asking, "Had you told your 'soul brother' and Sasha about this? Both of them loves the orphanage as much as you do, you know."

Ramir shook his head at the question, "I haven't. I can't tell them yet. It's not the right time." Ramir replied, earning him a sigh from Saphirette.

"You really should soon. There is only a short amount of time left before the invasion plans are to be completed, and be executed." Saphirette rearranges her glasses before continuing, "After all, you and your fellow Assassins are going to be some of the key players in it…You will have to at least include Levant on that plan before the invasion, as you can see."

"Of course. You can count on that." Ramir says in a determined voice, "After all…We Assassins never fought simply for the sake of bloodshed, or taking lives for our own benefit…but for peace and harmony, and we will do it, no matter what the method be." Ramir then looks Saphirette in the eye before continuing, "Even if it means becoming close comrades with the enemies of yesterday."

Saphirette proudly gives off a smile of victory as she senses the determination in Ramir's voice, and replies, "Of course. You may not share our motives, but our goal is the same." Saphirette then rearranges her glasses once more as she continues, "…To create true peace, born from love and understanding, not by fear and hate." The scholar then looks up to the sky as she finishes speaking, "After all, both humans and monster girls love harmonious freedom with each other…in more ways than one."

* * *

_Meanwhile, in a forest at far east of Lescatie, a camp was occupied by the caravans going in from Zipangu to Lescatie, carrying both product carts and passenger carriages._

_Inside one of those passenger carriages, a certain wandering scholar of monsters is writing something in a journal, particularly about a wurm that chased him this afternoon…_

"…_It appears that, with the proper timing and planning for escapes, getting away from wurms are possible. However, the only known effective methods of escaping are teleportation spells and any invisibility spell that allows one to blend in with his or her environment, as a direct chase will result in failure and relentless rape, considering the Wurm's physical capabilties. Also, take note that a wurm has a strong sense of sight and smell…"_ The scholar writes in his '_Escaping from Monsters: Dragons chapter_'. In this book, he plans to write out the most effective methods of escaping from monsters…and specifically, the dragon types. Although, so far, the male scholar has only encountered a wyvern and a wurm… and he barely got away unraped from each chase. If not for his knowledge of spells, he would have been married to some monster right now…

This scholar in action appears to has short black hair, sky blue eyes beneath a pair of large, round glasses, and he also has a slightly tanned skin. He wears a flesh colored long sleeve shirt, black colored pants, and brown sandals beneath a long, thick brown cloak.

"Um, excuse me, but are you mister Seifer Jaeger?" A young girl with purple hair tied in pig tails enters the cart. Seifer, the scholar closes his book as he turns his attention to the girl before him.

"Yes, little girl. I am. Why?" Seifer replied.

_~BGM: "HEATS" from Shin Getter Robo OST~_

The little girl responds with a wicked smirk in her face, "Well…I've always wondered what a scholar's essence tasted like…All my sisters already took the soldiers and mercenaries from outside so…" As she spoke, the little girl suddenly sprouted a pair of wings and a single tail from her body, and they had the same color as her hair as well. Seifer could only look unamused at the sight before him…

The girl was an imp all along!

"*Sigh*…I guess this counts as hands-on experience…so bring it! I won't back down, little girl! I've had enough experience lolis these days! Even Lescatie's lolicons are gonna be jealous!" As soon as Seifer finished speaking, he strips, causing the imp to get a full sight of Seifer's… ridiculously hairy body, and especially, the V-shaped patch of hair at his chest. "Prepare yourself for a whole night of hairy hell!" Seifer adds as he flexes his muscles before the imp. "I shall bang you before you bang me! That's how Seifer Jaeger rolls!" Siefer roared as he points to himself…

"Ew…Ewwww!" The imp shrieks in disgust at the sight of Seifer's body, and gets out of the passenger cart. Even from afar, she can be heard questioning if Seifer has seen a shave in his whole life…

"Well…I guess not shaving for 4 months was worth it. Time to high tail outta here!" Putting his clothes back on and taking his books inside a sack-like bag, Seifer runs outside the passenger carriage, and later, away from the caravan…which appears to have been overtaken by a large group of imps…

"_Lescatie is just far west of here…I'll have to keep running!_" Seifer thinks as he runs towards the western portion of the forest…

_~BGM Fades~_

* * *

"Alright…It seems that we are all here! Time for the mission debriefing!" Mersé announces as she rounds up the members of the 'Temporary' Snake's Lance squad, which consisted Mimiru, Sasha, an unhappy Primera, Levant, Mersé, and to everyone's surprise, Wilmarina, without her 'underlings' and 'bodyguards'.

"Apparently, as I have told all of you during the recruitment, our current mission is to protect an envoy on her way to the dwarf village. And so, allow me to introduce her first…" Mersé declares as she then proceeds to call out the said scholar, "Alright, you can come out now…"

On cue, a dark-haired scholar with glasses appears from behind Mersé…

"Hello there! Nice to meet you! I'm Saphirette Spherica!" Saphirette happily announces as she bows her head before continuing, "I'm a scholar who specializes in learning about monsters! My favorites are the cute little fairies! My three sizes are-"

"Yeah, yeah, we get it." Mersé flatly cuts off Saphirette, who pouts muttering '_And there goes my husband hunting endorsement campaign.'_, although no seems to have heard her as they were paying attention to Mersé instead.

"Well then, our instructions goes as this: Do not let any harm come to the scholar, whether by human or monster hands. Eliminate anything if necessary. That's all." Mersé declared as she raised her halberd, with its tip pointing towards the heavens, "Snake's Lance Squad, sorteing!"

"_**Yes, General!**_"

And with that, the Snake's Lance Squad leaves the eastern gates of Lescatie, with the envoy in tow…

* * *

_-5 hours later-_

_Sunset has shown, and the Snake's Lance squad is forced to take camp in the middle of the eastern tropical forests that connected Lescatie to Zipangu…_

_The heroes are currently gathered around a campfire, with the tents set from around them. Mimiru is fast asleep in one tent with Saphirette, while Wilmarina, Mersé, and Sasha are on guard duty. As for Primera and Levant, they were sent for a round of patrol around the camping area, to look for signs of monsters in hiding. Levant was sent to the eastern paths, while Primera was sent to the western paths…_

"Will they be alright?" Wilmarina asks out of thin air, causing Mersé to reply to her.

"Which one are you worried about?" Mersé asks bluntly, prompting Wilmarina to reply…

"Both the half-elf and the assassin, General."

"Nah, the half-elf's a hero, and a tree hiking archer with magic expertise at that. I don't think she'd be detected and get into trouble that easily. Although, if we're talking about true stealth patrolling here, my bet's on my original squad member. Not even cats can detect assassins!" Mersé replies with confidence, "I've seen his battle test records from the other Templars; Hell, I'd be impressed! I can't help but wonder who the hell trained him. If he trained in magic and wasn't an assassin, he'd be a great hero material, just sayin'! Actually, I can't help but wonder why they rejected him during the hero aptitude test." Mersé kept on speaking with curiousity, "When I checked the records of that test, he has shown a ridiculously high stock of magic within him, although a little too unstable. Even if he has bad control over it, it can't be bad to help him do so. I just can't understand the Order sometimes…" Mersé ended her talk with a disappointed sigh…

"…I see. Thank you for the information." Wilmarina replied in a monotone voice, with her face devoid of any emotion. But in her mind, anger reigned in as she realized one thing…

"_I knew it…_" Wilmarina mentally commented in anger as she grips her sword tightly, "_Father had a hand in this, again! Just how miserable does he want others to become till he's satisfied?!_" Wanting to avoid stress, Wilmarina decides to shake off the thought and focus on the night watch duty instead.

Meanwhile, Sasha just stayed quiet throughout the conversation. The topic of Levant being rejected from hero-hood is a sensitive topic for everyone at the orphanage…especially, for Levant.

* * *

_Meanwhile, on the far-eastern tip of the tropical forests, an assassin is going in for the last round of his patrol duty. Ever since an hour ago of patrolling the through the tree, the Levant has not sensed any disturbances from the ground. For an area unguarded by the order, it's pretty quiet. Too quiet._

"Hmm…nothing much around here, either, huh?"

Levant comments as he observes the ground below him from branch of a tall tree. With the aid of the bright moonlight, it was easy to do patrols from above, saving Levant the trouble of having to go down and search the grounds himself.

"…I guess I'm done for tonight. I should head back to camp-"

"_GET OFF MY CROTCH, WOMAN!_" A loud scream from somewhere below cuts off Levant, much to his surprise.

"_That voice…a guy?_" Stealthily moving from branch to branch, Levant begins to move towards the source of the voice. It seems to come from the far eastern parts, an area not included in his patrols…

"_Damn…I'm really tempted to go get help right now, but if I did…" _Even as he kept jumping from one tree to another, Levant began to mentally prepare a plan of sorts, concerning the scream he just heard, "…_It would cost time, and the guy would already end up getting kidnapped…or worse, killed. I guess I have no choice but to be careful…since I'll have to do this alone._"

The screams of a man continued, and Levant kept getting closer to its source as he free-runs his way into it…

* * *

"…I'm telling you, I won't hold back!" Seifer warned the humanoid monster before him, who appears to be a warrior woman of tropical beauty.

The said humanoid mamono has bright golden eyes, tanned skin, and a messy long, silver hair tied in a ponytail. She has various tattoos around the left side of her body, which emits demonic energy. She also wears a tiger's hide for a tube on her chests, and as well as for her short skirt. She also seems to walk on barefoot…

"_This isn't good…_" Seifer noted as he recognizes the mamono before him, "_Based on my data…she's an amazoness, a warrior type mamono, specializing in close quarters combat. Crap, I won't be able to cast spells once she gets me in range…_"

"Ohohoho…just give up…and accompany me, intelligent one." The amazoness declares as she approaches Seifer, "Be my betrothed…and we shall live happily. Together." The amazoness then points her spear at Seifer, who's already sweating bullets as his back now sticks to the tree behind him…

_~BGM: "Venice Rooftops -SCV Remix-" by Jesper Kyd~_

Suddenly, a hooded figure jumps down from the tree behind Seifer. The former had a blade popped out of his left sleeve as he fell down. The amazoness managed to sense the killing intent from above, but it was too late…

"What in the-"

The sound of a blade piercing through flesh echoed with the winds of the forest as Levant lands a shallow wound to the amazoness' chest with his left hidden blade. It appears that before Levant's blade could reach the amazoness' neck, she managed to barely dodge his assault from by dodging backwards, making Levant slice through her chests instead…

Wasting no time, Levant quickly charges forward, this time popping out another hidden blade from his right sleeve, and swings it at the amazoness in a small arc. In response, the warrior mamono quickly jumps back from the range of the attack, and thrusts her spear forward with her right hand, prompting Levant to quickly maneuver himself to his left, and jump towards the amazoness, grabbing the her right hand with his own right hand, and was about to land his right foot on her right leg…

…When the warrior mamono kicked him in the guts with a spear kick, using the same leg, sending Levant flying back towards Seifer. But before he could hit the ground, Levant quickly recovers his equilibrium in mid-air and manages to land on his feet.

"…Damn. I missed the first hit." Levant muttered before turning his attention to Seifer, "You're not wounded or something?"

"No, but…" Seifer paused as he observed the enemy, seeing something at the wounds caused by the assassin, "Sir assassin, look at the enemy's wounds!"

Levant quickly complies, and turns his attention to the amazoness and her wound. Indeed, something was wrong with the wound the assassin gave her…even the amazoness herself appeared perplexed, and was staring at it good and hard for quite a long time. "_My magical energy…it's flowing out of the wound!_"

Instead of blood, purple colored flame-like substance comes off from the wound. A moment later, the substance stopped flowing, and the wound closed. After checking it for a few more seconds, the amazoness turns back her attention to battle…

"Hah!" The amazoness shouts proudly as she begins to speak, "Looks like that toy of yours won't even land a scratch, human male-hey, where did you go?!"

It seems that while the warrior mamono was busy staring at her wound, the assassin and the scholar took the opportunity and snuck off, and hid themselves somewhere in the forest…

_~BGM fades~_

_-An hour later-_

"Damn…They're good at this!" The amazoness complains as she failed to find her target, particularly, the male in the black hood, who could fight. "…And to think that I finally found a man who can take care of children and can be a good sparring partner too…damn it all!"

Tired of searching around, the warrior mamono leaves, leaving the area where she encountered the two males…

* * *

"Damn…that seriously was a close call…but my blade…why didn't it hurt her?" Levant sighed in relief as they observed the amazoness leave the forest from afar atop a branch of a tall and thick tree…

"That would be because your hidden blades are made of a non-human realm type of mineral, or specifically, non-human realm silver, my human friend." Seifer replies, while sitting on the branch of the tree, and is watching the moon above…

"Oh? Then…" Levant flicks his wrists, and shows of the blade to Seifer, "Did you know what this is made off then, sir? I'm Levant Zanvolt, by the way…So what's your name?"

"Seifer. Seifer Jaeger. A scholar of magic." Seifer replies as he takes a good look at Levant's left hidden blade, "Hmm…How about if I do this…" Placing his left hand on the blade, Seifer begins to chant something in a low voice, causing his hand to glow slightly with a blue light for a few seconds before disappearing…

…And suddenly, Levant's hidden blade got wrapped up in purple colored flames, and they were the same flames that came off the amazoness' wounds from earlier, much to Levant's surprise. However, Seifer quickly reassured the assassin.

"Don't worry, it's harmless. But…it seems my suspicions were correct after all…especially with how it drains magical energy in place of inflicting wounds…" Seifer asks himself in wonder as he erases the flames from Levant's hidden blade with a wave of his hand…

"Suspicions? What do you mean…?" Levant asks, nervous of what the weapon might be…

"…That your current weapon, Sir Levant, is made of the infamous _demon realm silver_. Quite an amazing find, actually!" Seifer happily replies, while Levant looked like he just discovered he had diarrhea…

"_De…demon realm silver?! What the hell is that?!_" Levant mentally panicked as he looked at his new hidden blade with worry…

_**And there you have it! Whew!**_

_**Please leave your comments and honest opinions! Constructive criticisms are welcomed!**_

_**Oh, and if you're wondering what the demon realm silver is, you can find it at the Monster Girl Encyclopedia wiki!**_

_**Safety and peace, dear readers!**_


	4. A bustling city below the ground

_**Guess who's back, dear readers!**_

_**And oh, by the way, the story title has changed.**_

_**Here's another chapter of MGE: Bonds are Unbreakable! I hope you'll enjoy!**_

* * *

_**Monster Girl Encyclopedia: Bonds are Unbreakable Chapter 3: A bustling city below the ground.**_

* * *

"…Now, that's impossible. There's no way that my weapon could be fully in junction with demonic energy. I mean, if it really did from the start, my Hero allies would have sensed it the moment I wore it. So this means that your assumption from earlier is sadly a mistake." Levant comments as he views his hidden blade once more, not being convinced with Seifer's words. The latter, however, surprisingly does not debate.

"It is because your new weapon's magical composition is similar to a sponge with ridiculous absorption capabilities. Whereas not a single drop of water will not drop from that sponge regardless of the amount of water in it, your weapon will not emit any signal of demonic energy absorbed. Either that, or maybe that weapon of yours converts the absorbed demonic energy into something else. But then again, it's up to you if you want to believe that or not." Seifer explains clearly and professionally, earning the scholar Levant's attention, which then quickly wavers anyway as the Assassin remembers that he still has to return to camp. Turning his attention to Seifer, Levant declares his next course of action.

"I'll find out the truth when I have the time for it. Right now, I'm on a mission, so I can't get too focused on just my hidden blades. And speaking of that," Levant speaks as he stretches himself, "Would you like to come with me to my squad's camp? It would be safer for you that way." Levant offers to Seifer, who politely shakes his head at the said offer.

"I'm sorry, but I'm in a hurry as of right now. I do not have the time for even camping. Forgive me, but there is something I must do in Lescatie which requires my immediate attention." Seifer declares, earning him a sigh from Levant, who replies.

"Well, if you say so, I will not force you. But don't blame me if you would end up in a monster's stomach on the way to Lescatie. Are you truly sure you would not need an escort?" Levant states his intentions, to which Seifer shakes his head again.

"No, I do not. I thank you for the offer though, Sir Levant." Seifer politely bows, before continuing, "Excuse me, but I must be on my way now, if I would want to arrive in time. Oh, and by the way, monsters no longer _literally_ eat people these days, just so you know. Goodbye." And with that, Seifer jumps off the tree branch, and as he fell through the air, he chants some words, summoning a green colored glyph that fire off strong wind as Seifer came closer to the ground, preventing him from getting hurt and giving the scholar a soft landing.

"…_An odd man. There's no way that my weapons are something of the calibre he spoke of…A scholar he may call himself, but, I cannot truly believe, lest he actually proves with evidence…And what did he mean by monsters no longer eat people these days? So many questions…and yet, thinking about them too much won't get me any answers._" Sighing, Levant proceeds to jump from one tree branch to another, heading towards the direction of the camp towards the western portion of his current location…

* * *

"The stars…are out tonight, huh?" Sasha commented as she looked up the currently star filled night sky. Being a busy woman, Sasha barely had the time to look up at the sky, whether during the day or night. Tonight was one of the rare opportunities that the Holy Maiden of Lescatie has, with the stars brightly shining up in the sky like a million balls of light. The very sight made Sasha sigh in relaxation.

"_Such a calming feeling…If only I have more chances to share these with everyone in the orphanage, and Levant…_" Sasha could only sigh at the thought that emanated from her mind. Knowing her job, such an opportunity is almost non-existent, thanks to the growing tension between humans and monsters, and most especially in a hero-producing city like Lescatie. Almost everyone inside the city had nothing more to focus than finding more and more ways to kill mamono, or to make money. There was no space for enjoyment of even the most trivial things.

"_If only the people could also know happiness in another form…I believe that they could finally smile with all their heart…_" Sasha thought as she kept on looking up the stars, basking her eyes in its scenic beauty.

Then, a few minutes later, the soft sound of a foot landing on grass earned Sasha's attention, and causes her to look towards the source of the said sound, and finds Levant, who appears to have jumped from a tree branch.

"Ah …" Levant made sure to look around before continuing, and sees all the others beside Primera and Sasha asleep. The Assassin then pulls up his hood, revealing his face, "…Good evening, Sasha, Primera." Levants greets the two with a childish, big smile on his face. Primera just scoffed, while Sasha replies with the same smile on her face.

"Ah, welcome back, Levant. What took you quite long?" The Holy Maiden of Lescatie asked, which prompted Levant to pause for a bit.

Telling her of what really happened earlier, especially concerning the hidden blades, will cause unnecessary chaos and bother to the mission. Levant, seeing this as the case, decides to reply with an excuse planned in mind.

"Well…I got into it and ended up placing miniature traps all over the possible areas of stealth. I'm sorry about that. Being in the middle of a forest outside our borders, we can't be too careful now." Levant explains in his usually cold, professional voice, which made Sasha snort a little, earning her a raised eyebrow from the Assassin, who asks.

"…What's so funny?"

"You're being too cautious again. I don't really mind it, but, don't spend too much time alone, understand? Some mamonos can't climb trees or run fast like you, but they have magic spells that can stop you in any manner, you know. Not to mention if you stumble upon a Wurm hole…" Sasha begins to nag out, pointing out every little possibility of the consequences of Levant's solo trap planting. Levant could only sweat bullets as he is forced to listen to Sasha's scolding, while Primera could only stifle her laughter at the Assassin's predicament. Turning her attention away from them, she instead focuses on the soup that she's been making for the past hour, for Levant, herself, and Sasha.

"_Hmm…I think it's good enough. The scent is giving that away. Hehe, prepare to be amazed by my awesome cooking skills, you guys!_" Primera thinks as she opens the lid of the large cooking pot, which was summoned via a materialization glyph magic, a type of magic where solid items are summoned via glyphs. Taking out three clean empty bowls and spoons also summoned the same way, Primera calls to her two close friends, "Hey, you two! Let's eat the soup I've prepared for ya guys!"

Primera's call was then answered by Sasha followed by Levant.

"Ah, thank you, Primera."

"So it's not _fried frogs_ dipped in _peanut butter_ and _coated in caramel pudding_ this time, Primera?!"

A bowl went flying towards Levant's head…

_-Half and hour later-_

_After having dinner and cleaning up, Levant, Sasha, and Primera decided to rest up and sleep. However, after a long while of laying down, Levant finds himself unable to sleep. Despite not believing a single thing that the scholar, Seifer, had said, those very words still rang inside Levant's head._

"_That scholar said that my hidden blades absorb demonic energy like how sponge absorbs water…And if I remember correctly, demonic energy is like flu; The moment you have made contact with it, it will infect your very being…body and soul._" Sweat slid and fell down from Levant's face as he places his hands in front of him, and looks at it in fear.

"_So far, looks like I'm not yet 'infected'…Thank goodness._" Levant released a sigh of relief as he just found out that he still hasn't really contracted demonic energy. If he truly did, his allies would've sensed it long ago, and if that happened, it wouldn't end well…for Levant.

"_I can't leave this world…not yet. Not until I've brought justice to mother's death! Until I've stained my blade with Cardinal Noscrim's blood, I will not rest!_" Levant clenched his teeth as he remembers the true perpetrator behind his mother's death: The Templar Priest named Rodrigo Noscrim. There was no way the black plague could have infected Levant's mother, Michaela, had she not been forced to carry out an order from her vile employer, which was to retrieve an important parcel from a mining town to the north, which at the time, was fully infected with the black plague. With the threat of execution and her son's suffering, Michaela was unable to defy the Cardinal's orders. This way, the Cardinal was able to take out the '_rats_' of the Noscrim household without having to dirty his hands and reputation.

As fprhow Levant found out the truth, it was back then, around three months ago, right after the completion of his training, having returned to Lescatie from Masyaf. Utilizing his learnt information gathering skills, Levant got the information from a drunken guard of the Noscrim Manor, who was drinking himself out inside a tavern at that time. The said guard was one of Cardinal Noscrim's close confidants, and it took a lot of drinks and slipped in truth serums for Levant to procure in order to drag the information out of the guard's mouth…

"_Someday…When I finally gain my desired 'power', I swear I will kill you, Rodrigo Noscrim! Even if you run and hide to the ends of the earth, I will chase you, find you, and give you a death filled with pain beyond what you've ever known!_"

* * *

_Meanwhile, in the nation of Zipangu, or specifically, in the forestry areas in the west…_

_Somewhere, in the deepest parts of the forest, near the mountain-side…_

_A young man appears to be surrounded by soldiers, or rather, only three of them, as all the 17 others are beaten into unconsciousness, lying around the soldier's 'target'._

"Die, heretic!" A soldier, namely from the Goddess' order, tries to land an attack onto a man with short, spiky black hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. He wears a close-fitted tank top with shoulder pads, black pants, black shoes, and a pair of black-colored gauntlets. A bright, burning, golden flame-like aura covers the entirety of his body.

Before the soldier's sword could hit, the black-haired man manages to grab the soldier's sword from the dull sides, before taking a quick breath, and…

"_Metal Silver Reverb!_"

The man shouted as blue colored bolts of lightning danced around the sword, and around the soldier's body, making him feel extreme heat and being struck by needles all over, before getting knocked out from the pain as the bolts of lightning receded.

"Uuuuooohhh!" Another soldier attempts to ram his shield on the black-haired man, only for the latter to take another quick breath, which causes his right arm to be intensely wrapped in bright, burning, golden flame-like aura, raging like flames. The black-haired man then proceeds to face the shielded soldier…

"My heart burns with an awesome heat! Its beat will echo my burning will! _Burning Scarlet Reverb!_"

The black-haired man delivers a powerful straight unto the soldier's shield, causing a spiralling explosion of light at the section where the fist had hit…

…And an explosion of bright golden energy from behind the shield executes with great force that the handle of the shield that the soldier held onto breaks off the shield, sending the soldier flying as result.

"Over here, heretic!" Another soldier rushes towards the black-haired, who takes three quick breaths as the soldier came nearer. As soon as the soldier enters his range, the blue haired man roars,

"Thank you for the information, dear soldier! _Reverb Barrage! Ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora oraaaa!_" The blue haired man delivered a series of lightning fast, burning red punches at the soldier, with the former's fists looking like an endless barrage of small fireballs hitting the unfortunate soldier, with a small explosion of red light occurring at each place where the fists landed. The black-haired man ends the attack with a powerful uppercut, sending the enemy soldier high into mid-air for a few seconds before falling down to the ground.

"Looks like this is all that the Order has sent to me. Thank goodness. There will be lesser casualties this way." Declares the blue haired man, taking a deep breath once more…

The bright, burning, golden flame-like aura that covered his body dissipates as he takes another long breath, like how a flame dies off by the wind. Taking a look around him, the man could only sigh at the number of unconscious soldiers from the Goddess' Order sent to detain him. With no more other foes to watch out for, the man proceeds to leave…

"The underground town of _Golden Spirit _isjust around here…My dwarf friends could hide me for the meantime." The man says before looking around cautiously once more, and running away as fast as he can, heading for a certain direction leading onto a cave…

Meanwhile, an hour about the man disappeared, multiple beings arose from the shadows, surrounding the unharmed, unconscious soldiers. All of the beings had a similar feature: They have the upper-body of a beautiful woman, whilst having the lower-body of a spider covered in black hair. Their hands appear to be not humanoid as well, looking like a large, furry four fingered hand with large, monstrous nails resembling that of a cat's. From just looking at them, they are obviously mamono native to the area.

These mamonos are known as Ushi-Onis, one of the infamous violent type of mamono found in the peaceful and monster-human friendly nation of Zipangu.

"Well, well, would you look at that…" One of the Ushi-Onis declared as she eyes one of the knocked out soldiers, while licking her own lips in the process, "…So open and so defenceless…I wonder who was the good Samaritan that left us this boon?"

"That does not matter. For with this amount of men, our population is sure to grow higher than last year. And with more people, we can have the need of increasing our territory! So do not worry and take one of these men as yours! It's a feast of love tonight!" Another one of the Ushi-Onis declare, with the aura of a leader emanating around her. Without skipping a beat, her companions rush towards the unconscious soldiers, grabbing one for themselves. The leader-like Ushi-Oni, however, stood still and just watched… with an amused expression, before sniffing around for a little bit. After a few more sniffing, the leader-like Ushi-Oni's eyes suddenly twitched.

"_Judging by this scent of spirit energy, the one who initiated the take down of these soldiers is a human fighter._" As if smelling roses, the Ushi-Oni took a long, deep breath, savouring the smell of the human who possibly took down the soldiers, engraving the said scent deep into her memory. "_He must've been so much of a gentleman to even leave these soldiers with none to minimal damage…and other than that, the essence of his spirit energy smells…no, rather, it feels warm…like the light radiated from the sun…_" The Ushi-Oni smirks and licks her lips, now having found her focused target…

"I'm going to find you and make you mine, and grind you beneath my crushing love…_Mr. Gentleman…_"

* * *

It was early in the morning, as the sun has risen by half. Despite this, the Snake's Lance Squad are all ready to go, having packed up and suited up for more travelling…

"Well then, let's set off!" Merse declares aloud energetically, as she leads her temporary squad out of the forests. While Merse was very this morning, the rest of the squad had a rather professional feel around them. Except two. One of them is the Assassin in the black hood who's nodding off even as he walks. The other one is a female scholar studying monsters who claims to be near her 'expiration date', and is also nodding off as she walks.

"…_It's so quiet and awkward…I want to sleep again. Is this how professionals really work? Not even Mimiru here is making a quip…And even Miss Saphirette is silenced…or maybe she's also bored…_" Levant mentally commented on the silence around him. Unlike what he imagined, where working with professionals instilled morale as the work together, Levant felt like he's in the middle of an unseen blizzard instead. From what he just witnessed, being professional means being necessarily boorish. Although…

"Whoa, it's so quiet, ladies and gentlemen! Did all of you catch haemorrhoids last night or something?"

…General Merse appears to be an exception. Oh, and her questions was met with smiles _and_ silence, as usual. Thanks to this, the General just sighs and mutters something along the lines of '_These people really should loosen up through booze sometimes'_.

The awkward silence continued for a few more minutes, before finally, someone breaks the ice, and surprisingly enough, it was someone everyone hadn't really expected to talk first…

…To put it bluntly, it was Sasha.

"Say, aren't there a quite a lot of famous seafood restaurants in Port Natalia?" Sasha comments, remembering the stories of famous seafood restaurants on the port leading to Zipangu, something which she heard from a fellow hero some time ago.

"Ah, yes, yes, I've heard of them!" Saphirette quickly answers, raising her hand in the process for no reason, "Among them all, the most famous one is Queen Laura's Seafood Paradise! From what I've heard, they only serve the best ingredients and with genuine cooking to boot."

"Isn't that what all restaurants say?" Levant comments whilst rolling an eye. Based on his experience, the endorsments are obviously always for marketing strategies, and most restaurants would just plaster a picture of a flashy set of meals outside the Resto, only for the real thing to taste as worthless and even looks nothing like the presentation outside or in the advertisements.

"Heeey, that's not true! A friend of mine went there himself! Hmph!" Saphirette turns her head to the side as she tries to pout cutely. Yes, she's _trying. So much._

"Yeah, yeah, I was just joking around. Don't pout so much, lest you'll be growing wrinkles on that face of yours, Miss Spherica." Levant remarks as he stretches his arms as he walks, cracking some joints in the process. Saphirette, however, gave off an unexpected reaction…

"Wha-what?! This treatment…could it be…" A look of a scientist discovering something great plastered itself on Saphirette's own as the scholar makes a loud declaration, "…That this is what the people call the _Tsundere_ treatment?! Oh. My. Goddess! Didn't think you'd have the _hots_ for this _Christmas cake_, Mister Levant! _Kyaaah!_"

A look of shock and fear made its way unto Levant's face as he heard and absorbed Saphirette's words, and caused him to retort, "_Tsu-tsundere_?! What made you think that?! I was just…playing around, that's all! It-it's not like I was interested in talking to you or anything! And there's even no way I'd even have the '_hots_' for you. We just met!"

"*_Gasp_*! That reaction! Does that mean…you're willing to get to know me?! I…I'm so happy! I'll tell you when I'm free next time, so we can start our date! _Teehee_!" Saphirette happily declares, almost in tears, which causes Levant to quickly reply in a slight panic, feeling the cold stare and killing intent of a loli mage, an elf archer, and a rookie heroine piercing his back…

"That's not the point! And why in the world do you sound like I just asked you out?!"

"…Haha, they sure get along well, for an escortee and her escort." Merse amusingly comments at the antics of Levant and Saphirette, who are still bickering. However, the war general's attention was quickly switched unto Mimiru, who clears her throat…

"Yeah, yeah, they do. But back to the main topic about port Natalia. Now that I think about it…I rarely got to eat seafood back in Lescatie." Mimiru chimes in, her tone of voice different than the one she uses when talking to Levant in private. This time, her mannerism appears to be more…mature, and professional to boot, and up until now it still hasn't failed to surprise Levant, despite having seen it so many times. Although, in his mind, it still bothers him that someone so young like Mimiru actually learned how to speak like that.

"…Me as well. My home rarely serves seafood, due to…Cardinal Noscrim's allergy to them." Wilmarina adds in, albeit in a cold, professional manner, which surprised Levant even more, having witnessed it the first time. It was as if…she was totally different from her 'usual' cheery self. Levant felt the difference in a similar vein to day and night.

"_A…amazing. She's got this…skill at facades. It's like a 360 degree turn from her usual self! Even someone who's supposedly an expert in that division like me is impressed!_" Levant mentally commented at WIlmarina's '360 degree' turn of personality.

"So, seafood restaurants, huh? I'll think about it…" Merse mutters at the reactions of her squad. After all, she was aiming at a steak house instead…

"…Seafood, huh?" Primera mutter as she listened onto the conversation. Having lived in a City like Lescatie, seafood was quite expensive, due to the distance of Lescatie from the sea. However, deep engraved in her memories was the amazing taste of sizzled squid Sasha brought home to the orphanage one time, making Primera unconsciously had a look of happiness on her face for a few seconds, before returning into its usual frowning. Levant saw the look on the half-elf's face, which caused an idea to light up in his head and made him decide to stealthily go to Primera's side and catch her attention with a soft nudge to the arms.

"Huh? You need something?" Primera called out to Levant with a low voice, enough so that only her and the assassin could hear each other. Levant, in response, also replies in the same manner.

"Say, do you remember that sizzled squid that Sasha brought back then?" Levant declares in a hushed voice, while wearing a straight face, "IF we could find a way to get the General and Sasha to stay for dinner at the port, then…damn, we could eat as much as sizzled squid as we want. Port Natalia is under sponsor by Lescatie, so any food in there is on the house for heroes or generals! Catch my drift?" Levant finishes in the same low voice, with his words earning Primera's undivided attention…and cooperation.

"…And what makes you think I'll even cooperate with you, huh?" Primera asks, earning her an answer from Levant. With an evil smirk on his usually stoic face, Levant proceeds to whisper his reasons for the deal.

"Well, now, Primera, do you not want that…_sizzling feeling_ in your mouth? That brownish, smoking sauce _dripping_ from the squid _tentacles_ you've _inserted_ into _your mouth_…_Ahh…That feeling_! And to think that you do not only consume a single plate of it…but a whole legion's worth by yourself! Ah, such a beautiful bargain gained through such small work with words…could anything else get better than this? And to think that this is like, a once in a blue moon chance too…" Levant finishes with an overly dramatic whisper, as if faking guilt, complete with a sigh at the end of his speech. Primera, who listened and thought about Levant's words for a while, decides to finally ask after taking a deep, regretting breath.

"Fine, fine, what do you need me to do?" Primera asks as she finally relents to Levant's words, making the latter put on a victorious smile beneath his hood. After reorganizing his thoughts for a moment, Levant then begins to give Primera the instructions he has planned.

"Well, as I said earlier, I need help to convince Sasha to have her convince General Merse to stay the night at port Natalia, so that we could have a dinner at the famous restaurant Miss Saphirette told us about. I know that Sasha can be convinced quickly with the right words, but, I need a back-up and Plan B just in case, you know."

Primera thought about what just Levant just told her for a short while, before nodding at the latter. Seeing Levant's point, Primera proceeds to whisper back to Levant.

"Alright, got it. Give me time to plan out my words as well. I'll tell you all about it later, okay?" Primera whispers to Levant, who gave a thumbs up before leaving her side…

While Primera was thinking of a good excuse to tell Sasha, from behind her and Levant watching was Wilmarina, who, unconsciously, had an unpleasant look on her face, especially during the time Levant and Primera were whispering something to each other. The fact that Wilmarina could not hear what they were talking about placed a tint of unpleasant feeling in the heart of Lescatie's Number One Rookie Heroine. The sight of the assassin and the half-elf being so close to each other gave Wilmarina a feeling so complicated…

"_Lady Primera and Levant…Aren't they getting along a little too well?_" Looking down and preventing anyone from seeing her jealousy filled eyes, Wilmarina tried to quell her inner turmoil by attempting to calm herself down…Only for the earlier events to appear in her mind and cause turmoil once again, much to her frustration.

"_Alright. Operation Seafood Scamming is successful. Heh, looks like its sizzling scallops for me tonight! Now…back to track…_" Levant thinks as he returns focus on the road, content and confident that Primera will make a good back-up to his plan concerning the seafood restaurant. Although for some reason, he felt piercing stares from directly behind him. His mind tells him to look and see who it was, but at the same time, his survival instincts tell him not to.

…Levant decides to obey the latter.

"Alright, I can see the sea from here! We'll just have to pass through the _Golden Meadow Plains, _and BAM, we're at port Natalia! Get your weapons ready, everybody! Plains are an open area that's very susceptible for attacks, after all!" Merse declares aloud, to which everybody obeyed…

_-A few minutes later-_

_The sun has fully risen, emanating its light all over the world, giving light to everyone on the side of the world where the sun is currently facing…_

Levant, and the others finally left the forest's premises, evidenced by the fact that they have just left through the last row of large trees, and entered an incredibly large area, which by Saphirette's calculations, might be just as large if not wider than the city of Lescatie itself.…

The said area had no trees anywhere, and instead had beautiful, short, golden grass all over, save for paths where there are no grass, which serves as the road for travellers. Due to the shining golden color of the grass all over, combined with the wide of the plains, the whole place can be described to glow, thanks to the current position of the sun.

"…_I've already passed through here during my training days, but, its beauty still never fails to surprise me when I pass through here…_" Levant says as he looks in awe of his current environment. The beauty of the glowing golden grasses is relaxing for his eyes. His allies, however, seem to disagree. All of them had a rather cautious look as they traversed the plains in a slow pace, with the exception of Saphirette and Sasha who appears to enjoy the scenery around them, each for differing reasons.

"Alright everyone, before we keep on proceeding, I have a warning: Watch out for hidden human sized holes on the ground." Merse declares as she pokes the ground in front of her as she walked, making sure that it isn't a hollow hole covered with thick grass leaves, "Wurms are recently known to cover up their cavern holes with grasses, so make sure to check the ground in front of you and-"

"Kyaaah!" A loud shout interrupts Merse's warning, causing the whole Templar squad to be alerted, and look for the source of the voice…only to find one member of the group missing…

"Hey…don't tell me…" Merse cautiously approaches a recently dropped pair of glasses near a human sized hole, and picks it up. A look of terror spans on her face as she realizes the owner of the said glasses…

The whole group appears to have the same reaction as well. To think the person they were guarding slipped off their very hands…in the middle of their protective formation, no less!

"The envoy scholar…fell into the hole! That damn ditz!" Merse roared, causing her allies to cringe at the war general's action. Without wasting a breath, Merse proceeds to professionally give quick instructions to her allies.

"Alright, listen up! Considering the time and circumstances, the envoy is still most possibly intact. And thus, it falls unto our duty as her escort, to rescue and recover her before any possible monster mutation might occur to her. And as such, we have no choice but to set up a plan." Merse then turns her attention to Levant, who then looks back readily.

"Assassin, now's your time to prove your worth. While we plan out the raiding party and the watch guard party who'll protect our entrance to the monster's lair, you are to scout out the scholar's location, and ensure our escape route as well. Once you come back, we can begin the rescue operation. Now hurry, before anything might happen to Miss Spherica!" Merse commands to Levant, who swiftly obeys, and then proceeds to run and jump to the hole that Saphirette fell unto!

* * *

After jumping through the hole, Levant finds himself sliding down, in what appears to be a large tunnel that can even hold more than three people with its width. And to the assassin's surprise, the ground he's slipping on appears to be already slippery, as if it has been splashed with thick oil beforehand. Keeping his balance, Levant braced himself as he felt the direction of his slide becoming more and more horizontal, signifying that he is nearing the end of the tunnel and is about to enter a monster's lair.

This isn't exactly the first time he is sent for an infiltration mission. However, the difference between the one he is right now and the one back then is that the mission that took place in the past was just training, and it was in a human settlement, somewhere in the desert regions, filled with nothing more than unsuspecting humans. However, in the present, Levant is about to enter a _monster base_, which not only the monsters have enhanced senses of detection, but also, they are more physically capable of chasing him and pinning him down much quicker, considering that the said monsters are possibly Wurms, and that there might not be any climbable buildings to boot.

"_Okay, so I'm supposed to just look for the scholar's location, and then prepare an escape route after?_" Levant reviewed Merse's words, having been uncomfortable with the instructions given to him. "_Won't it be more effective if I'd just rescue her instead? Going in for a whole raid would just cause unnecessary chaos around and might end up causing the monsters to call for reinforcements, and besides, the monsters might just transfer the scholar as soon as we begin the rescue. Taking her out of the enemy base stealthily would be a better option…But on the other hand, if I would get caught, that's an even bigger problem. And considering the fact that these monsters have better sense of detection than humans…_" Levant mentally commented, thinking up of an easier way to rescue the sholar in the most discreet way possible.

However, it appears to be impossible, considering the earlier circumstances. "_…I guess I'll stick to General Merse's Plan A. I'm safer that way._" Levant decided, now firm in his resolve and shaking off his earlier fears. Knowing that he's a major key to rescue the scholar, Levant mentally strengthens himself, calming his mind in the process. A shaking heart would cause loss of stealth, after all…

A few moments later, Levant found himself becoming slower in sliding, as the ground beneath him is now fully horizontal. Looking forward, Levant could see the end of the tunnel, which appears to be covered by a set of four hanging leaves, placed in a fashion similar to curtains. From between each leaf appears to be a small gap, which a small light peeks through. Switching the position of his body from lying on his back into kneeling on all fours, Levant slowly and cautiously crawls forward, and carefully peeks through the small gap in the curtain of leaves…

What was caught in Levant's sight appears to be a small hall of sorts, with two torches hanging from the left and right walls, providing the light, and revealing a large wooden door in the middle. After sensing that there was no one around there, Levant decides to jump off the tunnel entrance, landing on his feet. In a cautious manner, Levant approaches the door…

…When suddenly, the said door slams open, revealing…

…A Wererabbit.

The monster girl appears to have the upper body of a young woman with bunny ears, and the fluffy lower body of a bunny. She has short, blond hair that reaches her shoulders, and is a bit wavy at the tips. She has a pair of bright red eyes, and bright, healthy fair skin. Her upper clothing consists of a blue, short sleeved blouse, with an open area on the upper chest, revealing her upper cleavage. The said blouse appears to be a jumper of sorts, as it has straps that hang from her shoulders, and down to the clothing hidden by the extremely thick fur covering the area of her 'bunny' body parts. A pocket watch that's as large as a plate could be seen hanging from her left hip.

The bunny girl has a look of extreme surprise _and _delight on her face, staring with a smile at the black hooded assassin in front of her. Levant, in turn, is already being pelted by his own cold sweat, as his mind is already processing multiple ways to get away from the bunny monster girl. Running away isn't an option, considering the Wererabbit's speed. There isn't anything to climb or hide unto as well. With cold air running up his spine, Levant scrambled his brain for more ideas…

"_Darn it, a wererabbit, of all things living on this planet! There's no way I can outrun that!_" Levant panicked, as the mental state of his mind is already like a lake with multiple ripples echoing all over it, disrupting its peaceful state. However, as Levant raised his eyesight and focused on the Wererabbit's innocent, happy ones, a memory jolted back into Levant's mind.

"_Those eyes…That's right! If I remember correctly, the Wererabbit is a…docile type of monster, much like their full bestial cousins. To think that I forgot that they are actually under the Assassin Brotherhood's 'Docile Monsters' list because of their friendly nature! They won't attack unless provoked…probably._" An idea then sparks inside Levant's mind, and without wasting a beat, Levant proceeds to execute it…

Having little doubt on its effectiveness, Levant decides to use it anyway. Taking a deep breath, Levant slowly approaches the bunny monster girl, who tilts her head in response…

"_First, I must approach in the most friendly way possible…How about hitting on her?_"

Remembering the playboy nobles he saw at the parties in the castle of Lescatie, Levant decides to put on his best imitation of them. The assassin then puts on a weird pose, as he tilts his hips slightly to the left and puts his left hand on it, and in turn points his right hand at the Wererabbit, and greeting her in a tone reminiscent of a playboy.

"Tsk, tsk! Hey, ~baby~!" Levant says his greeting, after which he flashes a smile. Despite Levant's…bravado, the wererabbit only scratched her head more in confusion, looking like she just saw something…weird.

"_Levant used 'Corny Playboy'! It's not very effective! Wererabbit is confused! Damn it, that was embarrassing!_" Levant mentally ridiculed himself at his attempted greeting, and is sweating real hard because of it. He feels as if his ancestors are rolling in their graves. He could even see his mother palm her face inside his mind!

…Looks like a lover isn't something he'll be gaining soon…

However, as if what happened in front of her was just an illusion, the blond haired Wererabbit proceeds to greet Levant cheerful manner, her face beaming with a bright smile as she speaks, "Ah, hello to you too, Mister human! Ehehehe!" The Wererabbit giggles, reminding Levant of a school girl seeing her crush. The monster girl's reaction warranted a surprised reaction from the assassin, who stood frozen in place.

"_She isn't even disturbed by that…pose I just greet her with?! Talk about magnanimous! Or maybe she's just ignoring me…_" Levant mentally commented as he kept his focus on the Wererabbit, not letting his guard down, just in case the bunny might have a surprise ready…

"Um, are you okay? You look pale…" The Wererabbit asks, with concern fully expressed on her face. Levant, seeing this spectacle, had to cover his suddenly bleeding nose. The Wererabbit's concerned face was too much for him to bear, as the very image of it caused his heart to pump up blood three times more intense. Wiping the blood off his nose, Levant proceeds to speak.

"I'm alright. My skin's naturally like this. Thank you for your concern, Miss…?"

"I'm Rieze! Nice to meet you! So, what's your name?" Rieze, the wererabbit, asks in return. Levant, now fully relieved, proceeds to clear his throat and reply.

"I'm…Levant. Levant Zanvolt." Levant replies in a warm tone, as he focuses all of his efforts to avoid scaring or provoking Rieze. He needs to ask her something, after all…

"Oh…You have two names too! Humans are really surprising, huh? I wonder why they always have two names?" Rieze says as she puts on a thinking pose, particularly where she scratches the back of her head. However, before Levant could answer her, Rieze suddenly twitches, as if remembering something important. After which, she suddenly proceeds to look Levant in the face…as she can't see his eyes due the hood covering the assassin's head.

"…'_Too'? She can't mean Miss Saphirette, doesn't she?_" Levant mentally commented at the wererabbit's words. It seems that within a short span of time since falling in, Saphirette might have went inside the monster base quickly…which means more trouble for the Assassin.

"Say, Levant, can I ask you something? It's really, really, really important, you see!" Rieze seizes one of Levant's hands, and proceeds to ask him, "Will you…be my friend?"

The wererabbit's voice was no short of sincere and warmness. It was exactly like how a child would sound like when making friends for the first time.

"_That…escalated quickly. Are all monsters like this? It'd be a good thing if they are._" Levant, despite his rather cold view on monsters, felt his heart skip a beat at the wererabbit's pleas. It was as if he wasn't talking to a 'monster', but instead, it felt like he was talking to a normal girl. It felt like…he was talking to an innocent person, devoid of all the supposed things that made them a monster…

"_No…I can't let my guard down. Not yet! This might be a trap set for me! And still…why does it feel like I don't want to hurt her feelings? Tch, I guess I could…play along for now…_" Levant felt his conscience kick in at the thought of refusing the wererabbit's plea, and having no choice in the matter, as his mentioned conscience couldn't take it, Levant made a decision, albeit regretfully…

"I…guess I can be your friend. Let's get along well, Rieze." Levant declares with an awkward smile, complete in a slightly awkward tone. A slight tint of red can be seen on his face as he spoke. Meanwhile, Rieze had both a surprised and happy look on her face as she heard Levant's reply, evidenced by the extremely wide, sincere smile on her face.

"Eh?! Really?! You won't run away?!" Rieze excitedly asks, shaking Levant in the process. However, instead of discomfort, Rieze's fluffy pair of hands gave off a mysterious sense of warmth, like a thick blanket strapped unto Levant's arms. Levant felt like he could asleep at any moment, but, remembering his current situation and his mission, shakes off the good feelings, and returns his focus to Rieze's words…

"…_Run away? Does this mean she met humans before?_" Levant mentally questioned. Considering that Rieze's home is in the middle of a very wide meadow where travellers pass through most of the time, it is not a surprise if one or two of them fell into the hole and encountered wererabbits the same way Levant encountered Rieze. Most probably, they would just run away, surrender, or worse…blood may have been shed, especially of the said traveller was a Knights Templar…

Levant shook away the thoughts from his head, and proceeded to give a reply to Rieze. Deciding that the best course of action is to get along with the wererabbit, and have her show him around the place. Maybe, he could also go asking around for Saphirette, considering that the place is actually human friendly. And thus, Levant makes a decision…and pulls up the hood of his robes, exposing his face.

"I won't run away. I promise." Levant in an assuring voice and a warm smile, the very same face he wears when comforting his younger siblings back at the orphanage. Rieze, appearing touched by the gesture, suddenly glomps Levant in a hug, out of happiness.

"I did it! I made a human friend! Thank you, thank you!" Rieze happily shouts as she tightly grapples Levant, who ended up with his face on the wererabbit's ample chests. To the Assassin, it felt like his face was being sandwiched between two large, ridiculously soft pillows, with a slightly springy feel. Levant felt his self-control get a feeling so complicated…

"_No, no, no! Focus, Levant! Remember the self-control chant you taught yourself back when you and cute little sisters took a bath together for the first time!_" Putting all of his efforts onto the rejection of the complicated feeling on his body, Levant mentally chants, "_The heart of a __**Gentleman**__! Burning conviction of a __**Sir**__! Undying will of a __**Knight**__! Self-control __**overload**__! __**Uuuooooh**__!_" Levant furiously shook his body, strong enough for Rieze to take notice!

"Ah, I'm sorry!" Rieze apologized aloud as she quickly lets go of Levant, who now breathes heavily due to the lack of air earlier. However, no sense of malice can be felt from the assassin, as he rather had the look of someone relieved. Rieze proceeds to ask her concerns right after, "Umm…Are you okay?"

"_Sweet pole dancing Eros, she's stronger than a frigging Knights Templar!_" Levant sweat dropped as he finally caught his breath, and has calmed down. With his mind now clear, Levant proceeds to reply and assure Rieze.

"I'm alright, no harm done, so don't worry about. By the way…On the other side of that door behind you is your home, right?" Levant asks, pointing to the door behind Rieze. The wererabbit nods twice, before replying.

"Yup! Behind the large door is the city of Lunaria, home of the Wererabbits of Golden Meadow! It's a big, big, city!" Rieze emphasizes the last five words by jumping at every syllable. Levant rose an eyebrow at the mention of 'city'.

"By city, you mean…the one with large buildings, and is a very, very wide place?" Levant asks with doubt, to which Rieze relies with honesty and pride stemming from her tone.

"Yup! It's just like the human city I've read in books! Come here, Levant! You can see the whole city from the platform behind the large door, you know!" Rieze grabs Levant by the hand, and drags him towards the large wooden door of the hall that they're in…

…Leading unto a wide platform, supported by a large, tall stone pillar from below. A set of stairs is also found at the side of the platform, possibly leading down to the city that Rieze mentioned. And speaking of the golden haired wererabbit, she has led Levant near the edge of the latform, where Levant and Rieze could see everything from below. What the two of them saw was…

…An extremely wide, underground city, complete with magically produced lights all over. Tall building are also situated around the city, although unlike the stone building of the humans, the buildings found underground appears to be made from extremely thick, strong wood. And even from just looking from above, one could say that the city was a busy one, just judging from the hustle-bustle of both humans and wererabbits from below…

"Welcome, to the underground city of Lunaria!" Rieze proudly decalres as she makes Levant take a look at the large city below…

At that moment, Levant's jaw dropped so hard, it looks like it will never come back up. The experience was quite a shock for him. Surely enough, he had read about bizarre cultures of monster from the books in Lescatie, but has _never _heard of an underground city, that's as wide as about one half of Lescatie. Levant could only exclaim in shock…

"_Holy acid trip! _This is ridiculous!"

"Of course it isn't, silly! Come on, I'll show you around!" Rieze grabs Levant by his hand once more, and drags him towards the stairs of the platform, as the wererabbit is intent on showing her first human friend around the city of Lunaria, the proud home of Wererabbits…

"_Considering the size of the city, it might take me sometime before I find Miss Saphirette. Sigh…This is getting more and more bizarre as I continue…First, friendly monsters, and now this?_" Levant mentally commented as he gets dragged on by Rieze down the stairs…

_A few minutes later…_

After having descended from the stairs beside the platform, Levant found himself still being dragged around by Rieze in the middle of a busy street, filled with mostly wererabbits and human males who minds their own business. Much to the assassin's surprise, it is three times more lively than the streets of a city like Lescatie. There are people everywhere, who are either buying something from the shops, or just walking around. However, Levant seems to have noticed something during his short time: The only humans he saw are mostly composed of human men, with human women numbering about 1 to 4 in a single area, as most of the frequent females _and _children are wererabbits.

Considering the place he's in, Levant was not actually surprised. He didn't feel like he's actually inside a base of monsters itself, but, instead, he felt like he's in an unfamiliar human city. The vibrant life around him made no difference to the one in Lescatie.

"Okay, so we're now at the commerce district! This is where people trade for food and stuff!" Rieze cheerfully explains. Levant could only nod and smile at the wererabbit's vague but straight to the point explanation.

"Heeeey, Rieze! I've been looking for-Oh my!" A voice loudly rings out behind Levant and Rieze, causing the two of them to shift their attention to the source of the voice. What greeted their sight was a wererabbit, with the same color of fur and style of clothing as Rieze, but has green, longer hair, yellow eyes, and a different facial structure from Rieze. The said Wererabbit also has a mature aura around her, compared to the more childlike Rieze.

"Ah, Esmeralda! Heeey!" Rieze happily replies, waving her hand towards the other wererabbit, while not letting go of Levant with her other hand. Meanwhile, Esmeralda, the other wererabbit, proceeds to approach Rieze and Levant.

"So, you've made a friend? Good for you, Rieze." Esmeralda comments as she eyes the way Rieze gripped Levant, who now sports a slightly red, embarrassed face.

"Yep, I did! His name is Levant! He's a really nice person, and quite funny too! Ehehehe!" Rieze replies, with her ears twitching at every few seconds. She had a big smile on her face as she replied as well, resulting in the other wererabbit smiling as well. Meanwhile, Levant proceeded to question Rieze about the 'funny' part…but not before introducing himself properly to Esmeralda.

"Uhh, yeah, nice to meet you, Miss Esmeralda. And Rieze, what did you mean by I'm funny?!"

"Remember when we met earlier, Levy? You know, this pose!" Without further ado, Rieze then proceeds to imitate Levant's corny introduction from many minutes earlier. She proceeds to tilt her hips slightly to the left, puts her left hand on it, and then points at Levant with her right hand, before copying the Assassin's dialogue as well, "Tsk, tsk! Hey, ~baby~!"

At that very moment, Levant's face went deep red, with steam seemingly coming out of his ears. His head seems to have heated up in embarrassment…literally. It does not help that Esmeralda is also now smiling at his reaction.

"Hehe, quite the aggressive playboy, are we, Sir Levant?" Esmeralda comments with the same unfading smile, causing Levant to scratch his head in embarrassment, accompanied by a giggling Rieze. However, before Levant could make any retort, Esmeralda quickly speaks out. "But still, I would like to thank for befriending Rieze. She's quite the…shy type to strangers, you see." Esmeralda declared with a warm smile, which slightly surprised Levant.

"Hey, hey, stop that! I…I'm not really shy you know! I can make friends too! Ask Levant if you don't believe me! Hmph!" Rieze pouts and crosses her arms, her face becoming red in the process. Levant and Esmeralda could only smile at this. Rieze, however, only got more annoyed at this.

"What are you two smiling at?! You're both making fun of me, aren't you?!"

"Now, now, we're not making fun of anyone, aren't we, Miss Esmeralda?" With a wide smirk on his face, Levant asks the emerald haired wererabbit, who nods before replying.

"Of course not, Sir Levant. After all, we're just happy that the shy girl Rieze has finally made her first human friend. Which is why we are smiling, yes?"

"You two ARE making fun of me! Uwaaah!" Rieze proceeds to cry out loud, causing her two friends to quickly console her, as their jokes finally made their use…

…After all, a crying Rieze is cute too…

As Levant and Esmeralda were busy consoling Rieze, a figure with a hooded cloak slowly approaches from behind the assassin. As soon as it was near enough, the said cloaked figure calls out loud, catching Levant's attention.

"Umm…Excuse me, sir, could I talk to you for a moment?" The cloaked figure asks, revealing to have a voice of a woman, which caused Levant to turn his sight onto the said figure. The latter then proceeds to continue her question, "Are you a traveller as well?"

"Well, yes, I am. Do you need something?" Levant tilted his head a bit to the side as he asked. After that, the hooded figure pulls up the hood of her cloak, revealing a young woman of unnatural beauty, astonishing Levant, Esmeralda, and even Rieze.

The said young woman has long, silver hair, a pair of red eyes, and smooth white skin. Beneath her cloak appears to be a long sleeved black blouse, and a black colored mini-skirt that barely reached the woman's knees. She also appears to wear a pair of knee-high black travelling boots. A short staff can be seen hanging from her left hip.

"Ah, forgive my rudeness! My name is Edea Moonlit, and I'm a travelling magician." The silver haired woman who calls herself Edea bows, before resuming her words, "I'm currently travelling on the way to Zipangu. You see, I stopped over this town and wandered around to see if there are any possible traveling companions…"

"How…surprising, Miss Moonlit. Me and my travelling party are also on the way to Zipangu as well." Levant comments as he eyes Edea carefully, only to sense no malice from her. The said magician's eyes were also filled with nothing but a look of someone who seems honest. And she's alone as well. Which means she's either a naïve adventurer, or a conniving bandit posed as one.

"Really?! What a coincidence! I'm travelling alone right now, and I really need some strong travelling companions for safety reasons! Say, can I join your party?" Edea suddenly declares, much to the surprise of Levant. However, knowing the strength of the people he travels with, a band of bandits or more won't be much of a problem. And thus, Levant tempts fate.

But first, before anything else, he must first find a way to not involve the two wererabbits with him. Now that he thought about it, didn't Esmeralda had something to say to Rieze earlier when they arrived in town?

"Say, Rieze, didn't Esmeralda had something to talk to you about? Maybe you should discuss it with her first. I mean, it sounded important…" Levant says to Rieze, before turning a look at Esmeralda, who seems to remember something important as evidenced by her ears twitching, and suddenly, she starts pulling at Rieze.

"Ah, that's right! Rieze, the elder needed you to do something important right now!"

"Eh?! But I wanna play with Levant right now!"

"You can do that later, but right now, the elder is calling for you! Come on, let's go." Dragging a whining Rieze along, Esmeralda then bows at Levant from afar, before proceeding away with Rieze. With the bunny trouble out of the way, Levant returns his attention to Edea…

"Well, if you help me with something, I might let you join the party…"

"Really?! What is it? I hope it's not something difficult…or money related…or something perverted…" Edea bluntly comments as she gives Levant a suspicious look, causing the assassin to sigh while scratching his head.

"It's not something like that. What I need you to do is to deliver a message for me. The recipient is a group of heroes waiting at the entrance of the rabbit hole, behind the large wooden door on the platform up there…which you can reach with a set of spiral stairs beside it. I would have delivered the message myself, but, unfortunately, I still have to look for someone…" Levant points to the platform he and Rieze arrived earlier. Edea sees it and nods at Levant.

"So, what is the message, then, Sir Levant?" Edea asks, causing Levant to beckon her to come closer…and whisper something at her ear…However, before he could say anything to her, a loud voice rang out towards Levant…

"LEEEEVVVVAAAANNNNT!" A loud, familiar, female voice interrupts Levant, causing the assassin to look for the source of the voice in reflex, and finds a certain teary eyed black haired scholar running towards him…in high speed. "You caaaaammmmeeee! Uwaaaaah!"

"OHMYGODDESSWHATTHEFU-" Before Levant could finish his line, Saphirette jumps high in the air, and lands diagonally towards the assassin, who in turn, places his arms in front of him in reflex. However, it seems that he didn't have enough time to shift his weight, and thus…

…A loud thud echoed throughout the commerce district of Lunaria City as Saphirette crashed atop of Levant, with the latter having his back on the ground, both his arms accidentally grabbing the…_ample_ _ballistics _of the former, with a strong grip to boot.

Levant, finally clearing his mind, assesses what just happened, finds himself in his current situation, and found a blushing, and moaning Saphirette above him.

"_Huff…huff…_I knew it…_Huff…_" With a happy look on her red face, Saphirette proceeds to speak in an _ecstatic _manner as she looks Levant in the eyes, "…You like your women you like your wine, don't you? Above thirty and all that…fufufufu…_Huff…huff…_"

Right after that, the surrounding wererabbits and men who saw the event started clapping and cheering, as if witnessing a wedding of their relative…

Edea could only watch with a face barely able to stop laughing. The amusement she's having right now is just too much.

Meanwhile, Levant, with his jaw dropped and his brain unable to process what just happened, combined with the sensation felt by his two hands _and _his hips, Levant was stunned with shock. And for exactly one minute and thirty seconds, _he stopped thinking._

* * *

_Meanwhile, with the heroines above ground._

"…He sure does take a long time. Are you sure we shouldn't send a second scout down there? I can vouch for that, you know." Primera declares, having noticed that Levant has been gone for about an hour now. However, Merse was unwilling to leave…

"Nah, not really. Scouting does take a long time. You can't expect him to map out an entire hideout like magic now, right? Although…we'll go there swords blazing if he isn't back by another hour. But for now, Let's just have faith in him." Merse declares, with her trusty halberd readied in her right hand. Despite her tough look, she actually is worried about her new squad member, and is willing to rush into enemy territory to drag his ass to safety…

Mimiru and Wlmarina had uneasy looks on their faces. Right about now, their urge to jump in and look for Levant are rapidly becoming more and more powerful…and if it wasn't for the fact that Merse is the squad leader, they would've rushed in around the first five minutes Levant did not return…

Meanwhile, Sasha couldn't do more than pray for Levant's safety…

* * *

_**Author's notes: And that's that for the current chapter. So yeah, Levant finally meets a monster mano-a-mano…and discovers that they're not exactly as the Order of the Goddess made him think them to be. If anything, we all know that this will affect his view on monsters on the long run…**_

_**So yeah, please leave a constructive comment/advice regarding the chapter. Your eyesight and mind might see something that I don't.**_

_**-raidouXVI withdraws coolly-**_


	5. IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR YOU ALL

_**Hello there. It's me, the author of this story.**_

_**A poll concerning this story has been set in my profile. A very important poll, it is. I hope you guys can vote as soon as possible, as the poll will only have a 2 week time limit.**_

_**Till next time.**_


End file.
